OPTION: Kieran Daly

Description

Described as one of the most “interesting and radical composers working in America today,” Kieran Daly’s OPTION performance is one of your only opportunities to see him live in Chicago this spring.

This performance and interview are presented in the ESS garden, and will premiere online on ESS’s YouTube.

This event is free and open to the public. Walk-ins welcome; reservations recommended.

The OPTION series is curated by Andrew Clinkman, Lily Finnegan, and Dorothy Carlos.

About Kieran Daly

Kieran Daly is an American composer and guitarist with concentration in experimental monophonic music. His work has been presented by countless venues including Artists Space, Cafe OTO, Default Den Haag, Issue Project Room, Liverpool Biennial, Museum of Modern Art, Non-Event, Pilar Brussels, Pioneer Works, Pitchfork, and Triple Canopy. His prolific recorded output can be found on Hibari, Marginal Frequency, Party Perfect, Tokinogake, Infant Tree, and Madacy Jazz, his central digital & print imprint co-operated with Sam Sfirri since 2014. He has also provided soundtracks to several features and shorts by the Canadian filmmaker Isiah Medina, including 88:88 (2015), Inventing the Future (2020), He Thought He Died (2023), and Gangsterism (2025). He releases work on Madacy Jazz.

About OPTION

OPTION is an ongoing music salon curated by Chicago musicians Andrew Clinkman, Lily Finnegan, and Dorothy Carlos and presented by Experimental Sound Studio. Its programming explores contemporary perspectives on improvisation and composition in a ‘salon’ format, enabling local, national, and international artists to publicly discuss their practice and ideas as well as perform. Click here for past OPTION performances.