Left Field Series

Natural Information Society

Natural Information Society (NIS) is a band led by composer & multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams. The group’s music is grounded in Abrams’ hypnotic & interwoven writing. Performing with Lisa Alvarado’s free hanging paintings as mobile sets, NIS creates environments at once meditative & propulsive, navigating forms that emphasize simultaneous differences, rhythm & collective listening. The group has released eight full length records, including recent 2023’s Since Time is Gravity and 2025 Totality in collaboration with Bitchin Bajas. 

 NIS tours as a quartet with Abrams on guimbri, Alvarado on harmonium, Mikel Patrick Avery on drums & Jason Stein on bass clarinet, occasionally appearing in larger formations & with guests.

 Outside of NIS Abrams has played & recorded with a broad range of artists including Fred Anderson, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Nicole Mitchell & The Roots. He has composed scores to ten feature films including the Oscar nominated Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. Abrams was a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2018 Grants to Artists award.

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

Left Field Series

Rogers Whitmore Recital Hall

Doors: 7 | Start: 8
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“it’s patient, layered music that’s always heading somewhere, sometimes spare and sometimes complex and shimmering.”

- Ben Ratliff, The New York Times


All performances/personnel, dates are subject to Pandemic Developments. We adhere to Boone Co./Columbia Health Dept. & CDC Guidelines.

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