Bowie brings Arcade Fire, Gervais to NY festival

03/26/2007 5:18 PM, Reuters
Wes Orshoski

David Bowie will bring hot indie band Arcade Fire, English comedian Ricky Gervais, and an 87-year-old spoken-word poet to the inaugural High Line Festival, which will take place in New York in May, organizers said on Monday.

Bowie, who co-founded the event with entertainment impresarios David Binder and Josh Wood, will serve as curator for the first outing, and will help choose curators for the subsequent festivals. He previously curated the 2002 Meltdown Festival in London.

The High Line festival, set for May 9-19 at various venues, will feature music, performance, film, comedy and visual art.

Bowie has long championed Arcade Fire, the critically acclaimed Montreal rock ensemble whose latest album recently opened at No. 2 on the U.S. pop charts. Other musical acts he lured include French experimental duo Air, symphonic choir the Polyphonic Spree and rock trio the Secret Machines.

Gervais co-created the BBC/HBO comedy "Extras," on which Bowie made a cameo, and "The Office." He will make his U.S. standup debut at the festival, playing at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 19.

Ken Nordine, the octogenarian spoken-word poet, joins Laurie Anderson and Australian chanteuse in the performance category.

"I would really hope that the exposure this festival affords will help these folk get the attention they deserve," Bowie said in a statement.

Additionally, he will host a retrospective of his 10 favorite Spanish language films from the last century.

Reuters