Photo (CHRISTEENE): Katerina Jebb 
Photo (Peaches): KEYI Studio

ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Advance reservations are full.

STANDBY LINE
While advance reservations are full, unclaimed tickets will be distributed on a standby basis. To attend on standby, please arrive early and join the standby line. Check-in will open at 7:15 p.m. 

DESCRIPTION:

U.S. PREMIERE!

CHRISTEENE
The Lion The Witch And The Cobra
CHRISTEENE with her Fukkn Band & Dancers
perform Sinéad O’Connor’s Debut Album.
+ Very Special Guests Peaches and Shannon Funchess (Light Asylum)

Conceived and Performed by CHRISTEENE
Produced by ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann
Music Direction by Peter Stopschinski

Please be aware that strobe lights and strong language will be used in this performance.

A collective reverberation to these tumultuous times channeled through Sinéad O’Connor’s debut album. Joining CHRISTEENE will be her carefully curated (and affectionately named) Fukkn Band, and longtime friends and allies who have been galvanized into action by CHRISTEENE’s rallying cry. CHRISTEENE determined that as the world continued to unravel, a unified response to ideologies “that threaten our way of life” was vital. Given Sinéad O’Connor’s work had resonated with CHRISTEENE for decades—“her capacity to survive, her private and very public wars with the church, her compassion and vulnerability”—she has chosen once again to conduct this greater message through the anger and energy of O’Connor’s debut album The Lion and the Cobra.

The Lion The Witch And The Cobra had its world premiere and was performed for one night only at The Barbican Centre in London, England, in September 2019. USC Visions and Voices is proud to present the U.S. premiere of The Lion The Witch And The Cobra and serve as one of two venues presenting the show in the United States.

ARTIST STATEMENT
“We are still in dark times, darker than I could have ever foreseen. We are still suffering at the hands of ignorant and dangerous men, and we are now without the physical form of Sinéad O’Connor roaming this earth, howling at its injustices and singing of love and understanding. There is no better time than now to ignite the flame of this show once again. To call to arms and gather our voices and our physical forms in recognition of the dangers we face as a people, and of a woman who faced those dangers head on.”—CHRISTEENE / Paul Soileau 

ARTIST BIOS
CHRISTEENE is a raw spirit of ferocious music, unabashed sexuality, and fiery intimate stank. The artist has collaborated and performed with numerous acclaimed musicians, including Faith No More, Kembra Pfhaler, Tribe 8, Narcissister, Marc Almond, and more. Longtime collaborators include award-winning filmmaker PJ Raval, iconic fashion designer Rick Owens, and artist Michèle Lamy. CHRISTEENE has been photographed by Juergen Teller, Katerina Jebb, Matt Lambert, and Wolfgang Tillmans.

Peaches is an iconic feminist musician, producer, director, and performance artist who has spent more than two decades pushing boundaries and breaking barriers, dramatically altering the landscape of popular culture as she forged a bold, sexually progressive path that’s opened the doors for countless others to follow. Through music, art, film, theater, television, and books, she has upended stereotypes and embraced taboos, challenging social norms and patriarchal power structures while championing LGBTQIA+ rights and issues of gender and sexual identity with biting wit and fearless originality. In 2020, her seminal album The Teaches of Peaches turned 20, which NPR says fundamentally “shifted the window for sex in pop.” The Teaches of Peaches 20th Anniversary Tour was met with sold-out audiences across North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

Shannon Funchess is a self-taught interdisciplinary performance artist and the founder, vocalist, and producer of the internationally revered electronic music project, LIGHT ASYLUM. Founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 2007, performances have culminated in traditional and non-traditional spaces such as underground raves, museums, art galleries, music festivals, and nightclubs. Her journey began in a gospel choir of a southern Baptist church in Spokane, Washington, at the age of nine. At the age of 12 she would front her first punk band. With a passion for collaboration, Funchess has joined forces with peers and allies around the globe, including The Knife, TV On The Radio, Elysia Crampton Chuquimia, Shayne Oliver (LEECH), and Yves Tumor, and electronic music pioneer Laurie Anderson. Funchess is lauded for her cathartic performances as LIGHT ASYLUM and side project HEALING CRISIS.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices. Co-sponsored by the USC Roski School of Art and Design and the USC Thornton School of Music.