Joseph Keckler performs at the Ancram Opera House July 24.
Although the themes explored in the art of Joseph Keckler parallel the rich, free-ranging diversity of the mediums he operates within—music, acting, storytelling, writing, painting, performance art—his breakthrough creation is concerned with a particular topic: tripping balls. “Shroom Aria,” Keckler’s hilariously weird, operatic account of an experience with psychedelic mushrooms, portrayed in a suitably surreal animated video by Liam Lynch, gained him web-wide recognition in 2013. Declared Best Downtown Performance Artist by the Village Voice and further exalted by the
New York Times,
the Wall Street Journal, and other publications, the Kalamazoo, Michigan-born, classically trained bass-baritone singer recently authored a book,