The Avalon Lounge and StretchMetal are proud to present Drone Rodeo, StretchMetal’s monthly ambient music series in the round.

Saapato is an Upstate New York based musician and sound artist focusing on intersection of ecology and electronic music composition. As a previous artist in residence for State and National Park services on both US coasts, his work brings wild spaces into people’s headphones in an attempt to have them reconsider their place within nature. His album On Fire Island created during his residency with the National Park Service was named the second best ambient record of 2024 by Pop Matters. His most recent record Decomposition: Fox on a Highway was named one of the best ambient records on bandcamp in April of 2025 and features collaborations with Laraaji, KMRU, and Nailah Hunter among many others. He has “patiently cemented his status as an emerging experimental favorite” (Bandcamp November, 2024)

Ruth Mascelli pairs slinking, synth-fuelled transcendence with crooning, existential balladry. Softening the edges of the industrial textures he provides as one quarter of the notorious synth punk band Special Interest, Mascelli’s solo performances present a carefully constructed sequence of electronic mood pieces and torch songs infused throughout with a desolate cosmic romanticism.

StretchMetal is a nonprofit resource network, label, and concert series promoting emerging artists in the ever-evolving landscape of abstract sound. Based in Chicago and the Hudson Valley.