Sound Mandala News Release: Kansas City's One-of-a-Kind Immersive Audio Experience Announces Summer 2026 Programming and Ticket On-Sale Date

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kansas City's One-of-a-Kind Immersive Audio Experience Announces Summer 2026 Programming and Ticket On-Sale Date

Three distinct programs debut at Unicorn Theatre June 10 – August 1; tickets on sale May 1

Kansas City, MO — Sound Mandala, the groundbreaking immersive audio experience created in Kansas City, is back for the summer of 2026. The programming lineup includes three distinct, original programs running June 10 through August 1 at the Unicorn Theatre's Jerome Stage (black box theatre) in Kansas City's midtown neighborhood. Tickets go on sale May 1 at www.soundmandala.org/experience.

The summer run coincides with Kansas City's role as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and overlaps with the KC Fringe Festival, positioning Sound Mandala as a signature cultural destination for both international visitors and local arts audiences.

Using a custom-built system of 100 independent loudspeakers arranged throughout the Jerome Stage, Sound Mandala moves sound through space in ways that cannot be replicated at home, in a car, or through headphones. Audiences sit at the center of the speaker array as sound travels around them, above them, and through them, with the audio being mixed live in the air for every performance.

"This is an experience that simply cannot be duplicated anywhere else," said creator and founder Tom Mardikes. "To experience it, you have to be there."

The 2026 Programs

Signal&Soul opens June 10 and runs through June 26. A dynamic variety program featuring approximately 10 to 12 pieces, Signal&Soul weaves together original music, actor voices, theatrical and musical art combined into an approximately 50-minute experience. Featured works include original compositions by Krizz Kahliko, Austen Schober, Jacob Souders, and Paul Vedros; a Chekhov vignette adapted by Mardikes and performed by Vanessa Severo; beatboxing artist Luke "Skippy" Harbur of musicbyskippy; Kansas City band The Plant; and a Sound Mandala reimagining of the Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows, performed by a live ensemble. Additional works are still in development, including pieces currently in negotiation with major recording artists.  

Indie Spotlight from Challenger Artists opens June 19 and runs through June 26. Five bands from the Challenger Artists management roster each perform two songs in an approximately 60-minute set designed specifically for the Sound Mandala system. Featured artists include Mini Trees, the indie-alt pop project of LA-based songwriter Lexi Vega, whose 2025 headline tour sold out venues across the country; Brooklyn duo TOLEDO; Valley Boy, whose collaborators include Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, and Troye Sivan; Midwest four-piece Post Sex Nachos, whose track "SOS" reached the SiriusXM Alt Nation Top 6; and Chicago indie act Capital Soiree, featured on Spotify's Fresh Finds editorial playlists.

The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari opens June 27. One of the earliest and most influential horror films, the 1920 German Expressionist silent classic returns with a brand-new score by Kansas City composer Thomas Newby and psychedelic chamber pop pioneers The Green Zoo. Widely credited with introducing the twist ending to cinema, Caligari is approximately 62 minutes and will be presented in full through the Sound Mandala's 100-channel immersive audio system.

Tickets 

All three programs are $30 per person. A limited number of $5 tickets are available to TeenTixKC members and $10 tickets to members of The Drop, ArtsKC's regional arts access program. Tickets go on sale May 1 at www.soundmandala.org/experience. 

Performances run Tuesday through Sunday with multiple showtimes daily. The Unicorn Theatre is steps from the Westport stop on the KC Streetcar line.

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Background: Sound Mandala was first presented publicly at the 2024 KC Fringe Festival, where more than 800 people experienced the installation. The creative team includes artists and designers affiliated with the UMKC Conservatory's Sound Design MFA program and is a longtime research project of professor Tom Mardikes at UMKC. 

Sound Mandala Institute, Inc. is a Kansas City–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

For more information about the history and technology, visit www.soundmandala.org