Ben LaMar Gay is a composer who moves sound, color, and space components through folkloric filters, producing brilliant electro-acoustic collages. Called a “visionary musician” by The New York Times, he is an explorer of many mediums and has found a form of creative expression that begins with improvisation and expands beyond the limits of any single genre.

Gay has been a member of the Association of the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) since 2010. With more than twenty years in vibrant experimental music scenes on his resume, he has earned residencies globally. He is a highly sought-after collaborator who has worked with Theaster Gates, Nicole Mitchell, Mike Reed, Dorothée Munyaneza, Joshua Abrams, and Onye Ozuzu, to name a few. These multidisciplinary collaborations, as well as his own projects, have brought his work to Danse Biennale of Lyon, African Dance Biennale Maputo, Chicago Symphony Center, The Barbican, Art Basel, and other international stages. His work has been commissioned by Pierre Boulez Saal, Wet Ink Ensemble, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Northwestern University, University of Zurich, and National Theater of Strasbourg.

For his work adopting global visions while remaining true to his roots as a South Side Chicago native, he has been the recipient of the 2026 United States Artist Fellowship, 3Arts Award, and the John Peel Award from Worldwide FM. He was a Mellon Foundation Archival Fellow in 2022. After he received accolades for a parade of more than eight albums, his recent release Yowzers!, released via International Anthem Recording, solidified Gay’s position as an important voice in American creative music.