Presented by Fire Museum Presents in Collaboration with Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture Spite of Darkness: Spite of Darkness is a Detroit-based experimental ensemble led by Palestinian-American composer and violinist Mike Khoury. Built on a unique structural foundation of two violins and two drummers, the quartet explores the intersection of contemporary classical, avant-jazz, and Arab-American musical traditions. The group—which features Khoury and violinist Indira Edwards—is known for its raw, percussive energy and intricate melodic interplay. The drum chairs are held by Bill Dixon alum, Ben Hall, and Ali Allen Colding who worked with James Blood Ulmer, Sam Sanders and Dorothy Ashby. Spite of Darkness functions as a vehicle for Khoury’s compositions, challenging traditional genre boundaries and offering a modern, improvisational take on the Detroit experimental scene. Sohme: Sohme is the sound-based project of Philadelphia artist, producer, and architectural designer Saumon Oboudiyat. Informed by a decade of work as an architectural designer and a lifetime of musicianship, his work blends analog and digital synthesis, acoustic instrumentation, and environmental sound into immersive listening environments. Released via Phantom Limb’s Spirituals imprint, his debut album Palm reflects on new fatherhood, Persian-American cultural duality, and shifting life stages through layered textures and arrangements. His work has recently been performed at Passages, Johnny Brenda's, Vox Populi, SOUND HOUSE and Launderette Records alongside guest lectures at Parsons School of Design.