Artspeak Radio with Sound Mandala & Scott Preston

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Tom Mardikes, Jon Robertson, and Scott Preston. Sound Mandala is a one-of-a-kind immersive audio experience where 100 independent loudspeakers surround you—sound moving around you, above you, and through you. This isn't surround sound. It's something altogether different, carefully crafted by sound designers who spend hours mixing each piece moving the sound around you, above you, and beneath you. Audio becomes a physical environment you can step inside – you feel it as much as you hear it. We call it a Mecca concept — you can't stream it, download it, or replicate it anywhere else. You have to be there. TOM MARDIKES & JON ROBERTSON- Sound Mandala Summer 2026 runs June 10 – August 1 presented at Unicorn Theatre; tickets on sale May 1 Sound Mandala is back and this summer, it's bigger than ever. The groundbreaking immersive audio experience returns to the Unicorn Theatre's Jerome Stage June 10 through August 1, 2026, with three original programs that push the boundaries of what sound can do to a room and to the people inside it. Tickets at www.soundmandala.org/experience. Sound Mandala's summer run coincides with Kansas City's moment on the world stage as a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city and overlaps with the KC Fringe Festival, positioning it as a must-see cultural destination for international visitors and locals alike. At the heart of the experience: a custom-built array of 100 independent loudspeakers surrounding audiences on all sides — above them, beside them, moving through them. Programs are complex mixes of recording done by our artists, using their original tracks. "This is an experience that simply cannot be duplicated anywhere else," said creator and founder Tom Mardikes. "To experience it, you have to be there." Sound Mandala made its public debut at the 2024 KC Fringe Festival, where over 9 days more than 800 people experienced the installation. The creative team draws from artists and designers affiliated with UMKC Conservatory's Sound Design MFA program, and the project has grown from the research of UMKC professor Tom Mardikes over many years. Sound Mandala Institute, Inc. is a Kansas City–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For history, technology, and more: www.soundmandala.org THE 2026 PROGRAMS Signal&Soul | June 10 – August 1 The flagship variety program, and Sound Mandala at its most kaleidoscopic. Roughly 50 minutes, 10 pieces, zero filler. Signal&Soul collides original music, theatrical performance, beatboxing, spoken word, and unexpected reinvention into a single, propulsive arc. Featured works include The Missionary by acclaimed KC artist Krizz Kaliko; an original composition by Austen Schober; a video game collage from Jacob Souders and Paul Vedros; a Chekhov vignette performed by Vanessa Severo; beatboxer Luke "Skippy" Harbur of musicbyskippy; MU by audio artist Rev. Dwight Frizzell; a new piece by Jon Robertson; and a Sound Mandala reimagining of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" that has to be heard to be believed. Indie Spotlight from Challenger Artists | June 20 – August 1 Five bands. Two songs each. Original multi-track recordings mixed into an immersive system that will change how you hear them. Challenger Artists has assembled a remarkable roster for this approximately 60-minute set conceived specifically for the Sound Mandala environment. Featuring: Mini Trees, the indie-alt pop project of LA-based songwriter Lexi Vega, whose 2025 headline tour sold out venues coast to coast; Brooklyn duo TOLEDO; Valley Boy, whose collaborators include Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, and Troye Sivan; Midwest four-piece Post Sex Nachos, whose track "SOS" climbed to the SiriusXM Alt Nation Top 6; and Chicago indie act Capital Soiree, featured on Spotify's Fresh Finds editorial playlists. Unicorn Theatre | Jerome Stage 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111 Tom Mardikes has worked on over 250 professional productions nat