Beyond the booth # 8: Sarah elaz

I keep coming back to the idea that there should be no formula for a live music experience.

Some of the things that inspire me most are the artists willing to break the rules of what a performance is supposed to be. I’ve spent most of my life in the performing arts. As a musician and a professionally trained dancer, I'm especially interested in the space between music, theater, movement, and performance art. I’ve never really understood why those things have to exist separately, especially in the jamband scene.

I’m inspired by work that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into another world. Sleep No More had a huge impact on me because it completely changes the relationship between the performer and the audience. You aren’t just watching a story happen in front of you. You are inside of it. I’m also inspired by artists like Angine de Poitrine, who have created such a distinct world and identity around their music. There’s something really exciting about seeing someone commit so fully to a vision that doesn’t feel like it could have been made by anyone else.

Phish has also been a huge influence on how I think about this. I love the way they have built an entire mythology around their music, from the narrative world of Gamehendge to their elaborate New Year’s Eve gags and the theatricality they bring to their songwriting. They’ve shown me that improvisational music can still have story, spectacle, and world-building.

That’s what I want to explore in my own work.

I love the spontaneity and improvisation of live music, but I also love the intentionality of theater and dance. I’m fascinated by what happens when you put those things together and allow them to influence each other. What happens when the music can evolve in the moment, but the world around it has been carefully built? What happens when the audience isn’t just there to hear the music, but becomes part of the experience?

That’s where Boojum's RITUAL came from.

We want to build worlds. We want to create performances that leave people with a lasting impression, whether that’s because of something they saw, something they felt, or simply because they walked away thinking, “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

RITUAL is just another opportunity to experiment with that idea. It brings together music, movement, theater, and all of the strange ideas that don’t necessarily have a place in a traditional concert. We're still figuring out exactly what it is becoming, and honestly, we think that’s part of what makes it exciting. There’s no formula for it yet.

We're really excited to bring RITUAL to The Ellis this September and invite people into the world we’ve been building. Join us.