Preparations are underway and the list of guest speakers has now been announced for the 2023 David Bowie World Fan Convention. After a wildly successful inaugural event in Liverpool, England earlier this year, the convention is moving across the pond to New York City’s Racket and will take place on June 17 and 18. It will once again be moderated by author and Bowie expert extraordinaire Nicholas Pegg (The Complete David Bowie) and promises to bring together a cornucopia of collaborators from every period of Bowie’s multi-faceted career.
Guest speakers set to be featured include producer Tony Visconti, whose partnership with Bowie spanned five decades and more than a dozen albums, pianist Mike Garson, and guitarist and bandleader Carlos Alomar. Other guest speakers are guitarist Kevin Armstrong, who led Bowie’s band at Live Aid, Carmine Rojas, who played bass on the classic Let’s Dance album and multi-instrumentalist and Earthling co-producer Mark Plati. See below for the full list of confirmed speakers to date with more to be announced in the future.
The 2023 U.S. edition of the convention dedicated to all things David Bowie coincides with both the 40th anniversary of his Let’s Dance album and the 50th anniversary of his iconic Aladdin Sane. The event, taking place at Racket, hosts an informative and exciting array of talks, meet-and-greets, live performances, and, of course, the show-stopping Bowie Ball, the glittering centerpiece to the weekend. Brimming with attendees donning costumes and make-up reflecting their favorite eras from Bowie’s illustrious career, the Bowie Ball is an exhilarating celebration with live music performance, DJs, best-dressed competitions, all topped off with Bowie-themed drinks and dancing that begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday night and extends to midnight.
Deryck Todd’s BowieBall is hosted by renowned Bowie performer Michael T, featuring Bowie tribute group Sons Of The Silent Age, special guest vocalist Ava Cherry and Bowie DJs TheMenWhoFell2Earth. Michael T is known for his memorable shows that combine his distinctive singing style and unique artistic showmanship. His performances take inspiration from his favorite musicians including Prince and Freddie Mercury, but Bowie’s influence takes the reigns. From Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, he pays homage to his legacy through his mesmerizing musical and artistic performances.
Sons Of The Silent Age was created by Chris Connelly and Matt Walker, 30+ year veterans of the music business. Walker brought his inspiring drumming skills to groups like Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, and Morrissey, and Connelly moved from his native Scotland in the 80s to pursue a career with The Revolting Cocks and Ministry. Since deciding to perform Bowie music, the duo continues to thrive, playing select, prestigious shows including the opening of the “David Bowie Is” exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and collaborating with other musicians.
Ava Cherry was 17 when she met David Bowie in New York City when she was a nightclub waitress and he was touring for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. She worked with him from 1972 to 1975, inspiring his “Young Americans” ‘blue-eyed soul’ era. Cherry became an influence in the works of a number of pre-eminent artists, as well as a respected musician in her own right, releasing critically acclaimed disco-fused music. For many years, TheMenWhoFell2Earth DJs have been bringing Bowie to the dance floor. From the now infamous indie night Rebel Rebel, which rocked London’s West End in the early naughties, through to their collaboration with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Modern Love at Soho’s Madame Jojo’s.
Tickets for the 2023 David Bowie Convention are now on sale here and limited VIP tickets will afford fans the opportunity to visit key New York City locations linked to Bowie’s historic work and the years he spent living there. A Bowie NYC map will also be created so that everyone attending can make their own pilgrimages around the city.
Scheduled Speakers
Carlos Alomar: Carlos Alomar played guitar on eleven Bowie studio albums between 1975 and 2003 – more than any musician other than Mike Garson (also a guest). He formed part of Bowie’s famed DAM trio backing band along with George Murray (also a guest!) and the late Dennis Davis. He has writing credits on a range of Bowie songs including ‘Fame’ (with John Lennon), ‘Never Let Me Down’ and ‘Red Money’ and has worked with Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Scissor Sisters, Alicia Keys, and many others.
Joey Arias: As a singer, performance artist and drag artist, Joey Arias has been performing for many years on the stages of America. ‘In 1979, he appeared alongside Klaus Nomi as a dancer and backing vocalist for Bowie’s groundbreaking Saturday Night Live performance in which the songs ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, ‘TVC 15’ and ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ were performed.
Kevin Armstrong: When Kevin received an invitation to record with a ‘Mr. X’ in 1985, it was, he says, a ‘marvelous surprise’ when David Bowie walked in. Over a ten-year period, Kevin recorded ‘Absolute Beginners’, ‘Dancing in the Street’ and the first Tin Machine album with Bowie as well as contributing to the Outside album. He played guitar with Bowie at Live Aid, played on Iggy Pop’s album Blah Blah Blah, produced by Bowie and continues as Iggy’s band leader.
Robin Clark: Robin Clark is a singer who performed beautiful soul vocals on the Young Americans album in 1975. Her vocals also feature prominently on the title song of the album. She is featured notably in the Cracked Actor documentary working on the complicated vocal arrangement for the song ‘Right’. She has toured and recorded with Simple Minds and worked with many legendary artists including Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Beyonce, Dolly Parton, and Michael Jackson.
Mike Garson: A classically trained pianist, Mike Garson joined the Ziggy Stardust tour in 1972, soon going on to play on the Aladdin Sane album and the accompanying 1973 tour. Mike would go on to appear on a total of eleven David Bowie albums, from Pin Ups (1973) to Reality (2003) and played live with Bowie on more occasions than any other individual.
George Murray: A key member of Bowie’s band over five years in the late 1970s, George Murray was the bass player in the famous DAM trio alongside Carlos Alomar and Dennis Davis. He performed on Station to Station, the iconic Berlin trilogy (Low, “Heroes” and Lodger) and Scary Monsters. George left the music industry decades ago and rarely grants interviews. Fans will be clamoring to hear his stories.
Nacho: Nacho is a self-taught filmmaker from Britain. He is well-known to Bowie fans for creating, editing, and restoring Bowie videos. In 2020, Nacho produced the documentary David Bowie in New York 1980: The Elephant Man, Scary Monsters and Other Strange People. In March 2021, he released an updated version of his documentary David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth which was praised by the original film’s director, Nic Roeg. It was endorsed by the official David Bowie website and commended by Bowie’s wife, Iman.
Chris O’Leary: Chris O’Leary is a writer, editor and journalist based in western Massachusetts. His work has appeared in Pitchfork, Slate, Billboard, LA Review of Books, Mojo, and New York. He is the author of the Bowie website Pushing Ahead of the Dame, a song-by-song chronicle of Bowie’s work. His work on Bowie has been published in two volumes: Rebel Rebel and Ashes to Ashes.
Tim Palmer: Tim is a British record producer now based in Austin, Texas. He was producer of both albums by Bowie’s late 80s/ early 90s band Tin Machine. He has also produced and mixed for other artists including U2, Robert Plant and Tears for Fears. He plays an active part in The Recording Academy/Grammys and has been a board member in Texas since 2012 and is a national trustee.
Mark Plati: In 1996, Mark co-produced David Bowie’s Earthling album, which marked the beginning of a period in which he produced, recorded, mixed, or performed on most of Bowie’s musical output until 2003. He has played guitar, bass and keyboards with Bowie and co-produced the long-unreleased album Toy which finally had an official release in 2021. He also served as Bowie’s musical director for live performances.
Carmine Rojas: Carmine played bass on the Let’s Dance, Tonight and Never Let Me Down albums and toured the world on the Serious Moonlight and Glass Spider tours in 1983 and 1987. He has worked with a host of legendary artists including Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Billy Joel, and BB King.
Tony Visconti: Bowie’s 1969 album, David Bowie (Space Oddity) was produced by Tony Visconti. The partnership went on to be one the most enduring of Bowie’s career and generated at least fourteen albums culminating in Bowie’s final masterpiece Blackstar in 2016. His relationship with a backing singer was the inspiration for the classic “Heroes.” Since 2014, he has performed with the Bowie supergroup, Holy Holy. He has produced classic albums by T. Rex, Sparks, Thin Lizzy and many others.
