Free. Outdoors. Fresh. | Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

Committed to paying homage to Armenian music, Highest Ani has created a powerful new sound by combining ancient Armenian folk and contemporary Western instrumentation with musical elements drawn from rock, jazz, hip- hop, funk and Middle Eastern music. The four-piece band features Mark Ohanesian on qanun (a large trapezoidal zither played across the Near East), Avo Chalaganyan on vocals, drum set and dhol (traditional Armenian hand drum), Marina Hovhannisyan on lead vocals and bass, and Aaron Kruziki on saxophone, clarinet, accordion and duduk (traditional Armenian double-reed). Laced with improvisation and not averse to a little psychedelia, Highest Ani creates breathtaking music for the future conjured from the distant past. 

Part of Yerba Buena Gardens Festival's Thursday Lunchtime series. For the full summer schedule, visit www.ybgfestival.org.