Yoko Only
The music of Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band performed by indie rock icons Yo La Tengo with Nels Cline and Yuka Honda and featured artists Theo Bleckmann, Finom, Emi Helfrich, Satomi Matsuzaki, Maggie Parkins, Patrick Shiroishi, Sleater-Kinney, Sylvan Esso, Tune-Yards, and Rufus Wainwright.
The Broad’s summer concert series returns for one spectacular night with Yoko Only, an evening dedicated to the musical creativity of Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band.
Guest curator Yuka Honda (eucademix, Cibo Matto) has assembled and joined a supergroup with Yo La Tengo and Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers), thoughtfully arranging Ono’s compositions and intentionally matching songs to renowned guest musicians and vocalists whose work reflects Ono’s themes. Together, they’ll interpret selections from the catalog of...
The music of Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band performed by indie rock icons Yo La Tengo with Nels Cline and Yuka Honda and featured artists Theo Bleckmann, Finom, Emi Helfrich, Satomi Matsuzaki, Maggie Parkins, Patrick Shiroishi, Sleater-Kinney, Sylvan Esso, Tune-Yards, and Rufus Wainwright.
The Broad’s summer concert series returns for one spectacular night with Yoko Only, an evening dedicated to the musical creativity of Yoko Ono and Plastic Ono Band.
Guest curator Yuka Honda (eucademix, Cibo Matto) has assembled and joined a supergroup with Yo La Tengo and Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers), thoughtfully arranging Ono’s compositions and intentionally matching songs to renowned guest musicians and vocalists whose work reflects Ono’s themes. Together, they’ll interpret selections from the catalog of an artist who has inspired generations, ranging from the avant-garde and experimental to Billboard hits. Presented in conjunction with the special exhibition, Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind.
Know Before You Go
Tickets include admission to Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, The Shop at The Broad, and the museum’s third-floor rotating collection galleries during the event.
Please note that Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013) will be closed during this event.
Event is standing room only. Dedicated accessible seating and access mats on the plaza grass are available.
To learn more and plan your trip, visit Know Before You Go & FAQ. Visitor policies are subject to change.
Bios
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo are Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, and James McNew. Formed in 1984 and based in New York City, they have remained one of the most acclaimed and beloved institutions in American underground music across four decades. Throughout its career, the band has collaborated with a diverse set of artists, including composer Alvin Lucier, painter Yoshitomo Nara, and filmmaker Kelly Reichhardt. The trio’s most recent album, This Stupid World, was released on Matador Records in 2023 and the band have continued to tour extensively across the globe. Yo La Tengo joined Yoko Ono onstage at the Glastonbury Festival and recorded a cover of her song “Who Has Seen the Wind” with David Byrne for the tribute album Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono.
Photo by Cheryl Dunn
Nels Cline
Nels Cline is a genre-defying guitarist widely celebrated as a longtime member of seminal rock band Wilco, and for his expansive solo career spanning jazz, rock, and experimental music. As a band leader he’s released three critically acclaimed albums on Blue Note Records, from the lush orchestration of Lovers to the electrified improvisations of Share the Wealth. His latest project, Consentrik Quartet, showcases his deep roots in the avant-garde improvised-music scene, further cementing his reputation as one of today’s most adventurous and versatile guitarists.
Photo by Nathan West
Yuka Honda
Yuka Honda (eucademix) is the guest curator of Yoko Only. She co-founded the trailblazing duo Cibo Matto and has since forged a solo path that blends electronic experimentation, improvisational depth, infectious rhythm, and abstract storytelling. Inspired by hip hop—sampling, layering, and cross-genre collage—as well as experimental production, microtonal detail, and the interplay between digital and live instrumentation, she has collaborated with artists including Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Nels Cline, Photay, Jason Lindner (Black Star), Dave Harrington (Darkside), L’Rain, and Martha Wainwright. Recent project highlights include Respira, a duo with Butoh dancer Azumi O E at ISSUE Project Room and Big Ears Festival, and her score for Karon Davis’s “Resurrection of Osiris” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yuka Honda merges art, ecology, and philosophy into a singular sonic vision and is a board member of Catskills Agrarian Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to food sovereignty and regenerative agriculture.
Photo by Sean Ono Lennon
Theo Bleckmann
Theo Bleckmann is a Grammy nominated singer and new music composer whose approach blurs boundaries and surprises expectations. Bleckmann re-imagines songs by Henry Purcell, Charles Ives, George Gershwin, Kurt Weil, Kate Bush, Massive Attack and the Bee Gees. He’s appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, is the recipient of the Jazz Echo award, and has toured Europe with Oulu Symphony Orchestra and UMO Jazz Big Band and Japan with Century Symphony Orchestra. Bleckmann is also recognized for his original work and has collaborated with Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, John Hollenbeck, Ulysses Owens, John Zorn, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and more. theobleckmann.com
Photo by Raoul Manuel Schnell
Finom
Finom (fka Ohmme) is a Chicago-based art-rock group formed by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart.
Photo by Anna Claire Barlow
Emi Helfrich
Emi Helfrich is a New York based multimedia artist whose work is rooted in international cultural identity and radical hope. She is excited to celebrate the legacy of Yoko Ono, an artist who has deeply influenced her as both an activist and an artist. Emi believes that hope is not in opposition to grief; they are part of the same truth. Even after the bombing of Hiroshima, flowers were growing in the rubble only a year later. These cycles of loss and rebirth are at the core of her creative vision. From 2019 to 2020, she lived in Tokyo, seeking to strengthen her connection with her Japanese family. Her experience continues to inform her work, which channels the fantastical to examine resilience and the transformative power of love.
Photo by sophie lair-berreby
Satomi Matsuzaki
Satomi Matsuzaki is the bassist and vocalist of Deerhoof, one of the strangest yet most consistently beloved indie bands in the U.S. Known for constantly evolving music and outspoken politics, they continue to spark debate. Matsuzaki feels deeply connected to Yoko Ono’s peace activism. Deerhoof covered “No, No, No” for the 2022 tribute album Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, curated by Ben Gibbard. In 2010, they also performed with the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band in Oakland, joining “Give Peace a Chance” live.
Photo by Satao Eguchi
Maggie Parkins
Cellist Maggie Parkins is equally at home in chamber music, orchestral music. and the avant-garde. A robust advocate for new and experimental music, Parkins with the Eclipse String Quartet and Brightwork new music ensemble has commissioned or premiered numerous works by composers from all over the world. Parkins is also a member of Mojave Trio and The Smudges with Jeff Gauthier. She has performed with groups including Jazz Passengers, Billy Childs, and the Anthony Braxton Ensemble. Parkins’ recordings can be heard on the Bridge, Albany, Tzadik, Avan, Cryptogramophone, and Victo labels. Parkins has performed Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Festival Internacional de Musica de Cadaques (Spain), Heidelberg Castle Festival, Spoleto (USA and Italy), the Taktlos Festival (Switzerland), and the Bach Aria Festival in New York. Parkins taught cello and chamber music at UC Irvine for 19 years and currently teaches cello at Pomona College and Cal Arts.
Photo courtesy of the artist
Patrick Shiroishi
Patrick Shiroishi is a Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist, composer & poet based in Los Angeles. Over the last decade he has established himself as one of the premier improvising musicians in the city, playing solo & in numerous collaborative projects. He has presented work & performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Broad, The Getty, commissioned by the LA Philharmonic & has toured around the world in various solo & band configurations including The Armed & contemporary classical ensemble Wild Up.
Photo by Asato Iita
Sleater-Kinney
Now three decades into their partnership and no less ferocious and inventive than day one, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker’s alchemical connection has made Sleater-Kinney one of the most impactful and vital rock acts of the past 30 years. Their 1995 debut demonstrated a new, singular vision, the duo’s idiosyncratic and interlocking musical language composed of the most dynamic elements of punk, riot grrrl, classic rock fury, modern indie rock guile, and more. Their most recent record, 2024's triumphant Little Rope, perfectly rang in Sleater-Kinney’s 30th anniversary—their signature crunch and roar daubed in a post-punk glow, a culmination of their profound and influential canon while pointing to an even more concussive future.
Photo by Chris Hornbecker
Sylvan Esso
Sylvan Esso is a band from Durham, North Carolina. Across their career, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn have put out four acclaimed albums, been nominated for two GRAMMYs, and collaborated with a wide-ranging, eclectic community of artists including Arooj Aftab, Maggie Rogers, Tyler Childers, Reyna Tropical, Califone, and many more. At the end of 2025, the pair released their latest pair of singles, "WDID" "KEEP ON," via their own label, Psychic Hotline. “WDID” was recorded at Betty’s, Sylvan Esso’s studio in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and features additional production from Jake Luppen (Hippo Campus, Samia). “KEEP ON” was built from a week of improvisation with bassist Daniel Aged (Frank Ocean, Dijon) and drummer TJ Maiani (Weyes Blood, Neneh Cherry).
Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg
Tune-Yards
Formed by Merrill Garbusin 2006, Tune-Yards is synonymous with creativity and forward motion. Explosive performances, surprising song structures, and danceable rhythms bridge music and social consciousness. The New York Times praised their debut album, BiRd-BrAiNs, as “a confident do-it-yourselfer’s opening salvo.” Garbus stepped into the producer role with 2011’s w h o k i l l, a sonically inventive album that reached the #1 spot on The Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop poll. By 2021’s sketchy., Garbus and bassist Nate Brenner had solidified their collaborative partnership. The duo’s sixth studio record, Better Dreaming, was released in 2025 on 4AD. Tune-Yards have contributed to scores for Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, I’m A Virgo and I Love Boosters. Their artistry continues to expand across music, film, and television.
Photo by Shervin Lainez
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright has been praised by the New York Times for his “genuine originality,” and has released ten studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums including the GRAMMY® nominated Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. He has collaborated with Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Boy George, Joni Mitchell, Pet Shop Boys, Carly Rae Jepsen, Robbie Williams, Paul Simon, and producer Mark Ronson, among many others. He has written two operas and numerous songs for movies and TV. His studio albums Unfollow the Rules (2020) and Folkocracy (2023) are both GRAMMY® nominated. Wainwright’s musical of John Cassavetes’ Opening Night premiered at the Gielgud Theater in March 2024. That same year, he completed his Dream Requiem, which premiered with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France featuring narrator Meryl Streep, followed by the US premiere at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles featuring narrator Jane Fonda.
Photo by Brandon Michael Young