Thanks to ABC ClassicFM LIMELIGHT for the writeup …..and, from the Phoenix Central website: “How to Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort is a stirring meditation on climate change and the natural world composed by punk rock drummer, RichardLawson and performed by Acacia Quartet. Film and artistic direction by Elizabeth Walton, who reads from her poetry cycle of the same name, which will be published by 5 Islands Press in 2026.  Described by artist, Imants Tillers, as “a beautifully nuanced and balanced combination of original musical composition and performance, imagery and spoken word," this project responds to the urgency of climate grief and the quiet beauty of still-wild places. Each piece in this song cycle reflects our contemporary interphase with city life and the natural world, exploring the Symbiocene as an urgent and critical response to the extinction crisis. This work invites listeners to slow down and listen deeply, in a performance which blends science with lush string textures, evocative contemporary harmonies and melodic lines which trace a journey through changing landscapes, and ecologies. “This cycle is my way of listening to the land,” says composer Richard Lawson. “It’s easy to feel lost sometimes, or hopeless, but I see so much hope for this beautiful world. In this performance, we invite you to meet us there.” 

Richard Lawson