Laurie Anderson will curate a day-long celebration of the work and legacy of Lou Reed as part of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival in New York City. Titled The Bells: A Daylong Celebration of Lou Reed, after Reed's song "The Bells," the full day of free events will take place on Saturday, July 30, curated by Anderson with Reed's friend and longtime producer Hal Willner.

The day begins in the morning with group Tai Chi led by Reed's teacher Master Ren Guangyi that is open to all (beginners welcome) on Josie Robertson Plaza and culminates in Damrosch Park with Lou Reed's Love Songs, an evening concert featuring performances by a raft of artists across a range of music genres. The concert will be followed by a screening in the park of Julian Schnabel's 2008 film Berlin, which captured Reed's live, 2006 concert performances of the 1976 album of the same name.

In between is a wide array of events, including: a sound installation Lou Reed: Drones created from six of Reed's guitars and amps in a feedback loop to produce an immersive sound environment; screenings of films and documentaries at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center; a demonstration by Tai Chi Master Ren Guangyi, to include his martial arts students; readings from Reed's collected lyrics by notable actors and artists; afternoon musical performances; and an all-day marathon playing of Reed's recordings.

More information about participating artists, venues, event starting times, and other details will be announced at a later date. Watch for the May 4 announcement of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors schedule, featuring concerts and events from July 20–August 13, at LCOutofDoors.org.

Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson frequently attended Lincoln Center events and also performed there—separately and together—on several occasions. In November 2013, the only public event marking Lou Reed's death—organized by family and friends—took place outdoors on Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza. There was no ceremony. No speeches. Just Reed's music—selections of recordings spanning the last 45 years, from his Velvet Underground years, to his solo career—playing on loudspeakers for a gathering of several hundred people, alerted by a posting on his Facebook page. It was, as reported in the New Yorker, a "public memorial that celebrated Reed by filling the whole complex with his music, like church bells ringing in a town square."