The Three Cups

What happens when you give a cello to someone who thinks outside the box? You get Philip Sheppard – and trust us, you've never heard anything like this. Philip doesn't just play the cello; he transforms it into an entire orchestra through ingenious live looping techniques, building sonic landscapes in real-time with nothing but his instrument and a few misused guitar pedals. But here's the twist – he's also one of the most unexpectedly hilarious storytellers you'll encounter on a concert stage.

This is the composer who soundtracked over 80 films and video games (including the multimillion selling Detroit Become Human), produced Jimmy Page at the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, and somehow found time to jam with everyone from David Bowie and Scott Walker to Queens of the Stone Age and Odesza – yes, he was the cellist bringing down the house during those three sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in 2024.

His trophy cabinet reads like a musical hall of fame: Game Audio Guild awards, Sundance Audience Award, The Webby Award, Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music for lifetime achievement, and membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars). But ask Philip about any of this, and he'll probably tell you a ridiculous story about how he ended up owning the North Korean National Anthem.

He was a longtime collaborator with his dear friend, jazz legend Keith Tippett, and has worked with icons like Jarvis Cocker, Keanu Reeves, Abdullah Ibrahim, Juliette Binoche, Sia, Suzanne Vega, and currently serves as Artist in Residence for XPRIZE – because life isn’t busy enough.

This isn't your grandmother's classical concert (though she'd probably love it too). This is what happens when virtuosity meets comedy club meets experimental laboratory – and it all somehow makes perfect, beautiful sense when Philip takes the stage.