BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST releases US DEBUT ON DRAMATICO JUNE 15
LOS ANGELES, CA – Breakthrough singer-songwriter Geoffrey “Gurrumul” Yunupingu will perform a series of rare concert appearances in the US this summer.
The tour will start at Joe’s Pub in New York on June 15 and will visit some of the most notable and famous music venues including the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
Gurrumul is the first indigenous Australian solo artist to breakthrough to the mainstream and has been described as “the greatest voice this continent has ever recorded” by The Sydney Morning Herald. Q Magazine noted “his celestial voice and his swelling acoustic songs full of dignity reduce you to tears, aching with the pain of the past and hope for the future” and The Independent in London said,”Gurrumul’s voice [is] timeless, nostalgic and haunting – unwavering in its delicate beauty.”
Gurrumul will perform material from his self-titled debut which is set for release on Dramatico in the US through Universal Motown on June 15. A stunning collection of 12 songs, Gurrumul, the album presents a beautiful mood and voice, quiet, delicate, and universal.
It sounds like a “classic” album that unusually celebrates ancestry, country and land. The album has set record sales in Australia and was nominated for four ARIA Awards (including the coveted Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year), and has won the hearts of audiences across the globe.
In the United Kingdom, where the album was released last year, Gurrumul made his UK TV debut on Later with Jools Holland, claimed the top of the world music charts and graced the cover of Songlines Magazine. Three singles were added to the BBC Radio 2 playlist, “Bapa,” a poignant lament for his late father, “Wiyathul” and “Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind)”; only six non-English language tracks had previously been featured in the playlist in the last ten years. Gurrumul was also named one of the top ten world-music releases of 2009 by the BBC.
Gurrumul’s debut achieved best-selling world music status in Germany and Switzerland; he performed an inspiring live acoustic duet of the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” with Sting on French television, translating the lyrics into Gumatj and sweetly stealing the show. Elton John asked Gurrumul to open the veteran artist’s dates at the Sydney Opera House.
The Northern Territory native, blind from birth, grew up as a member of the Gumatj clan on Elcho Island, off the coast of tropical North East Arnhem Land. In his culture, the elders are the spokespersons for the clan. Listening to the songs from a man who never speaks makes this tour all the more remarkable. A live show is not to be missed (VERY RARE).
More tour dates to be announced soon.
June 15 New York, NY Joe’s Pub
June 20 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
June 22 Washington DC, Millenium Stage @ Kennedy Center
June 30 Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music
July 6 Seattle, WA Triple Door
July 8 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
July 14 Boston, MA Summer Series @ Museum of Fine Art
For more information, please contact:
Allison Elbl 323.822.4851 aelbl@id-pr.com
Courtni Asbury 323.822.4850 casbury@id-pr.com
