Career highlights
Twenty-five years of playing places
From a valley strung across with the first Earth Harp to the opening night of ArtPrize 2026: the milestones, venues, festivals and partners behind the work.
Lightning in a Bottle
Milestones
Moments that shaped the Earth Harp
A selection of milestones. The full lists of venues, festivals and partners follow below.
- Around 2000
The first Earth Harp
William strings almost 1,000 feet across a valley, turning the landscape into a harp.
- Early years
The Field Museum, Chicago
The first public installation of the Earth Harp, followed by the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
- 2012
America’s Got Talent
Third place on NBC’s Season 7, from more than ten thousand acts. William returned in 2015 for a duet with finalist Emily West, the first time two former contestants collaborated on the show.
- Guinness World Record
Singapore skyscraper
The strings run about 300 meters from the plaza stage to the top of a tower: the longest playable stringed instrument on earth. It launches the Sky Scraper Tour.
- 2015
Sonic Odyssey
A production show built around William’s instruments for Royal Caribbean’s flagship, Quantum of the Seas.
- 2016
Kennedy Center residency
Two Earth Harps in the Hall of States, daily concerts, workshops and a sold-out finale in the Eisenhower Theater. The same year, David Satori of Beats Antique joins the set at Lightning in a Bottle.
- 2023
Houston and Lightning in a Bottle
The Miller Outdoor Theatre centennial in Houston, and a return to Lightning in a Bottle.
- 2026
ArtPrize opening night
About 250 feet of strings across the Pearl Street Bridge in Grand Rapids, with thousands of people staying through the rain.
Special projects
Beyond the concert stage
- Guinness World Record holder: longest playable stringed instrument, on a Singapore skyscraper
- Permanent installation for Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas
- Bronze medal on NBC’s America’s Got Talent
- Sonic Odyssey, a production show on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas
- Performance run at the Palazzo Theater, Las Vegas
- Stringing the Seattle Space Needle for a run at Bumbershoot
- The Sharjah waterfront, UAE, with the Earth Harp synced to the fountain show
- Stringing a 9th-century castle in Italy for the Verucchio arts festival
- Development of an interactive museum of music and instruments
- Instruments for the Super Bowl, Cirque du Soleil, Royal Caribbean and America’s Got Talent
Where it has played
Venues, festivals and partners
Performing arts centers & concert halls
- Kennedy Center, Washington DC
- Kimmel Center, Philadelphia
- Lincoln Center, New York
- Radio City Music Hall, New York
- Shanghai Grand Theatre
- Theatro Municipal, São Paulo
- Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
- Broward Center
- Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center
- Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center
- Tampa Bay and Mesa performing arts centers
- Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston
Festivals
- Coachella
- Lollapalooza
- Burning Man
- Lightning in a Bottle
- ArtPrize, Grand Rapids
- Singapore Night Festival
- Shanghai International Arts Festival
- Macau International Arts Festival
- Jerusalem Festival of Lights
- Bumbershoot, Seattle
- Notte Bianca at the Colosseum, Rome
- White Nights Miami
- Festival Santa Lucía, Monterrey
- Utah Arts Festival
- Main Street Arts Festival
Corporate clients & private events
- Opening of the ARIA, Las Vegas
- MGM Grand special events
- New international airport terminal, Hong Kong
- World Financial Center, Singapore
- Microsoft
- Samsung
- Citigroup
- Mercedes
- Burberry
- Heineken
- Chivas
- Gallo
- The Versace Mansion
Residencies & museums
- Kennedy Center
- Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture
- Carnegie Science Center
- The Exploratorium, San Francisco
- The Field Museum, Chicago
Press
It’s like being in a giant cello.
The New York Times
One of the five coolest things about Coachella.
Rolling Stone, as quoted by the Erie Reader
One of the most unique musical experiences of the weekend.
The Nomadic Groove
Also featured by VICE / Noisey, the BBC, NBC, MLive and the LA Times.
Booking
Let’s string your space.
Tell us about your festival, city, venue or event. Matt Kendall at Concept Artists handles all Earth Harp bookings and will get back to you with options and pricing.