Golden Hour is a 60-minute, immersive live music experience created in Charlottesville, Virginia by musicians Suz Slezak & David Wax (of David Wax Museum) and Lauren & Daniel Goans (of Lowland Hum). For the entirety of the performance, guests are seated and blindfolded while the four principle musicians move about the space, holding the listener close in an ever-changing sonic landscape. What initially seems like a unique way to engage with live music soon becomes an opportunity for presence, stillness and participation in a deep listening experience that is simultaneously individual and communal. 

The founders have been honing this experience since 2017, and in 2020, NPR showcased the experience in a feature story: “These Charlottesville Musicians Want To Change The Way You Experience Live Music” 

“As someone who’d gone to thousands of concerts over my lifetime, Golden Hour was a revelation for me. It brought me back to my first show, the feeling of anticipation, surprise, and joy. It was like being reminded of why I fell in love with music in the first place.  These musicians have crafted something special, one that will show how much we’ve taken the live music experience for granted, and how to recapture that magic again.” - Stephen Kallao, host of NPR’s World Cafe

"It's rare to know for sure that you'll remember an hour of your life twenty years from now."
- Jim Ryan, President of the University of Virginia

“I’ve never had an experience like the Golden Hour, and I didn’t anticipate how extraordinarily moving it would be. We need this kind of intimacy and beauty—and the lasting gratitude and hope they inspire—in our dark times."
- Steven Biel, Executive Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University

Golden Hour is currently scheduling public and private events for the 2026-2027 season.

For booking inquiries contact: whatisgoldenhour@gmail.com