Image: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
MASS MoCA will present pianist Lara Downes in ‘HOLD THESE TRUTHS: Lara Downes and Friends’ on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 7pm in Club B10 in North Adams, Massachusetts. The concert is billed as a reflection on America’s 250th anniversary, with Downes framing the program around music’s ability to express the core essence of the nation’s founding promise.
According to the museum’s event listing, the program brings together several collaborators: Theo Bleckmann, 9 Horses — identified as Joseph Brent, Sara Caswell and Andrew Ryan — and Vuyo Sotashe. MASS MoCA describes the concert as a “poignant and probing” look at the American musical landscape, moving from traditional songs that pre-date the nation’s founding to new works that point toward the sound of an American future.
The performance also draws on Downes’ ‘The Declaration Project,’ which MASS MoCA says has been in residence at the museum as part of a national year-long journey. The project has engaged people of all ages in urban and rural communities and reflects on collective vision and intention for the American future. In the concert description, the museum says the music traces roots and journeys, connects people at crossroads, and centers them on common ground.
MASS MoCA’s site positions the event within a broader summer season of performances and exhibitions across its campus. The museum describes itself as a contemporary art museum and fabrication center with vast galleries, artist studios, and indoor and outdoor stages. The July concert appears in the institution’s calendar alongside music programming such as Bang on a Can: LOUD Weekend 2026 and a series of gallery concerts, underscoring how the museum’s performing arts schedule moves between large-scale experimental music and more intimate, themed programs.
The concert listing notes that ‘HOLD THESE TRUTHS’ is supported in part by the Endeavor Foundation. Ticket prices are listed as $38 advance, $58 preferred, and $24 student. The program is set for Club B10, with the museum site emphasizing that the event is part of a summer slate that includes both ticketed performances and public programs.
For Downes, the event arrives with a clearly stated civic frame rather than a conventional recital format. MASS MoCA’s language presents the concert as a musical sequence that includes the nation’s early songs, works generated through ‘The Declaration Project,’ and collaborations that extend the performance beyond a solo piano program. The museum’s calendar places the concert on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 7pm.
