A five-night concert series, Soundtrack of America inaugurated The Shed and celebrated the influence of African American music with a new generation of groundbreaking artists. Production designers David Rockwell and Adam Stockhausen wrapped The McCourt in plywood, creating a uniform, unpretentious platform that allowed the musicians to shine with no distractions.
Directed by Turner Prize-winning artist and Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen and commissioned by Quincy Jones, Soundtrack traced a musical “family tree."
An ADA-accessible, cascading topography of plywood tiers provides raised standing-room space above the general admission plywood floor.
The stage is a series of four elemental plywood boxes that forms a kind of folly—a simple expression of columns, beams, and planes. The boxes contain sliding doors and platforms that can be adjusted for different performers, making it a rough and ready kit of parts.
Photography Credit: Iwan Baan Courtesy of The Shed