Image: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams
MASS MoCA will host ‘Bang on a Can: LOUD Weekend 2026’ from July 30 to August 1, 2026, bringing more than 70 musicians to the museum’s galleries, performing arts stages and outdoor spaces. The three-day festival is the culminating event of the twenty-fourth annual Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, and the museum says the program will span experimental and genre-blending work across jazz, classical, rock and other forms.
According to the museum’s event listing, the weekend is designed as an immersive series of performances set within MASS MoCA’s campus in North Adams. Festival passes include museum admission, and the schedule is structured around a Thursday opening night, a fuller Friday program and a Saturday finale. MASS MoCA also notes that final schedules with location will be available closer to the performance dates, and that events are limited capacity and first-come, first-served for advance ticket holders.
The headline repertory on Thursday includes a brand new arrangement of Philip Glass’s album ‘Glassworks’ performed in its entirety by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, alongside David Lang’s ‘Death Speaks’ and a set by [Cute Boat Name], the folk/americana duo of Elena Moon Park and Philippa Thompson. The festival’s Friday and Saturday programming expands into premieres, spotlights and ensemble performances, with works by Bang on a Can fellows, faculty and invited artists spread through the weekend.
Among the announced weekend highlights is the world premiere of Annie Gosfield’s one-act chamber opera ‘Emma’, performed by Eliza Bagg and Mantra Percussion. The work is described by MASS MoCA as exploring the radical vision, ideals and enduring legacy of Emma Goldman. Other listed premieres include eight new works by the 2026 summer festival composition fellows, as well as the U.S. premiere of Michael Gordon’s ‘8’, performed by an all-star cast of eight festival cellists with special guests.
The lineup also includes a new live arrangement of Terry Riley’s ‘A Rainbow in Curved Air’ by the Bang on a Can All-Stars; Eric Nathan’s ‘Division of Time’ for solo cello and player-piano, performed by Jeffrey Zeigler; and Michael Harrison’s raga-inspired ‘Just Ancient Loops’, performed by Maya Beiser with film by Bill Morrison. Additional sets on the bill include Darius Jones, Yasmin Williams, Julia Wolfe, Raven Chacon, Ken Thomson, Shelley Washington, Florent Ghys and others.
Bang on a Can and MASS MoCA frame ‘LOUD Weekend’ as the climax of a longer summer residency, with fellows and faculty performing throughout the museum campus in advance of the main festival days. The museum says the broader summer program turns its galleries and outdoor spaces into a setting for performances, workshops and seminars focused on adventurous new music, with festival passes available for the full three days or by individual day.
Tickets listed on the event page include a $180 general admission advance three-day pass, a $280 preferred three-day pass, and single-day passes for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The event runs Thursday, July 30, 2026; 7:30pm-11pm, Friday, July 31, 2026; 1pm-11pm, and Saturday, August 1, 2026; 12pm-10pm, at MASS MoCA.
