SPAC Announces Five New Concerts

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is going global this summer with five new concerts that explore the contemporary international music scene from Japan to India and well beyond.

YAMATO: The Drummers ofJapan will fuse Taiko drumming with spectacle and athleticism for the Greater Nippertown debut of their new heart-thumping program, “Jhonestsu,” at 8pm on Monday, July 29. The group of a dozen-plus players start their performance by playing a Japanese Taiko drum weighing half a ton, made from a single piece of wood from a tree that has aged more than 400 years. They move their whole bodies to strike the drum, creating a powerful surge of energy. YAMATO’s live performances are full of intensity and exhibit great originality and innovation through this traditional Japanese musical instrument, with the belief that the drumbeat, like the heartbeat, is the very pulse of life, and the epitome of the Japanese spirit.

Tickets for the amphitheater-only performance of YAMATO: The Drummers of Japan are $30, $40 & $60.

In addition to YAMATO, SPAC has announced four new concerts for the SPAC on Stage series, where the audience is seated on the amphitheater stage along with the performers. The 2019 SPAC on Stage series will feature Indian sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, Latin Grammy nominee Tony Succar & Mixtura, Bhangra party band Red Baraat and the multi-culti ensemble Banda Magda.

Here are the details for the new SPAC on Stage shows:

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR’S LAND OF GOLD
Wednesday, June 19, 8pm
$40 & $50
The heir to the transcendent musical tradition of her father, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka will bring her hypnotic melding of Indian classical and progressive world music. Known for her spiritual musicality, the sitar player and composer has garnered several prestigious accolades, including six Grammy nominations. Her most recent nomination came for her album Land of Gold, which was written in response to the humanitarian trauma of displaced people fleeing conflict and poverty.

TONY SUCCAR & MIXTURA
Tuesday, July 23, 8pm
$40 & $50
Latin Grammy nominee Tony Succar fuses an irresistible mix of exuberant Afro-Latino inspired music, the seductive rhythms of salsa, and the energy of jazz and pop beats. According to Miami New Times, “If the King of Pop had ever produced a Latin album, it probably would have sounded a lot like the Magic City’s Tony Succar.”

RED BARAAT
Monday, August 26, 8pm
$40 & $50
The infectious rhythms and pioneering style of Red Baraat intricately layer lively North Indian bhangra with elements of hip-hop, jazz and raw punk energy. Their album Sound the People, reached the Top 10 on the World Music Charts Europe and was heralded as the anthem soundtrack for the South Asian diaspora.

BANDA MAGDA
Monday, September 9, 8pm
$40 & $50
The multi-cultural Banda Magda seamlessly moves from samba grooves to polyphonic French chansons, with journeys into lively Greek folk and percussive Afro-Peruvian landó for a courageously fresh and bold performance. Led by Greek-born singer, film scorer and composer Magda Giannikou, the group has collaborated with everyone from Kronos Quartet to Louis CK and Snarky Puppy.

MORE OF TODAY’S NEW CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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