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Oliver Mtukudzi with Special Guest Alex Cuba

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Date & Time
  • Friday, February 6, 2015
Ticket Prices
$31.50 All Tickets
Venue
Co-operators Hall
35 Woolwich Street
Guelph ON
N1H 3V1
Directions

Oliver Mtukudzi with Special Guest Alex Cuba

SOLD OUT – Please call the box office to be added to the waiting list.

Presented by Hillside Inside:

Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits with Special Guest Alex Cuba

Kick off Hillside Inside 2015 in River Run Centre’s Co-operators Hall with one of Africa’s musical giants!

Hillside Inside Oliver and Cuba promotional

Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi is a guitarist, vocalist, performer and composer. And he must be one of the few people to have a beat named after him: ‘tuku’!

Zimbabwe’s pride, most successful artist and national treasure, Oliver Mtukudzi is gifted with a deep and gusty voice plus a talent for writing songs that reflect on the daily life and struggles of his people. ‘Tuku’ as he is known, began performing in 1977 and has earned a devoted following across Africa and beyond, all the while incorporating elements of different musical traditions. A member of Zimbabwe’s Kore Kore tribe, he sings in the nation’s dominant Shona language as well as Ndebele and English.

Tuku’s music is heavily influenced by a humanist chimurenga ethos, which, in turn, is inspired by the hypnotic rhythms of the mbira (thumb piano). His music also incorporates South Africa mbaqanga, the energetic Zimbabwean pop style jit, and the traditional kateke drumming of his clan. One of Tuku’s biggest fans is Bonnie Raitt, who has not only called Tuku “a treasure,” and recorded a cover of “Hear me Lord” but also credits Tuku as the inspiration for the song “One Belief Away” on her album Fundamental.

Tuku (along with Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo AKA The Black Spirits) is one of the most successful African recordings artists in North America, having sold hundreds of thousands of records on Putumayo, Heads Up/Telarc and Sheer Sound. Tuku is an alumni of Acoustic Africa II (2011 edition) and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Eastern and Southern Africa, focusing on Young People’s Development and HIV and AIDS Prevention.

A three-time Latin Grammy winner, Alex Cuba has charisma in spades onstage. But the singer-songwriter is equally at ease in the studio: he co-wrote Nelly Furtado’s “Mi Plan” and has collaborated with Ron Sexsmith, Blue Rodeo and Dominican stars Milly Quezada and Juan Luis Guerra. A purveyor of rock, soul, pop and Latin-funk that elegantly bridges his past in Havana and present in British Columbia, Cuba is giving fans what they’ve been waiting for—a new album in 2015.

The complete Hillside Inside program for the February 6-8, 2015 weekend with ticket links for events not held at River Run Centre can be found at hillsidefestival.com/pages/how-to-buy-tickets.

Please remember that everyone must have a ticket to enter the theatre, including children. Infants will not be admitted into the theatre during this performance.

At the request of the presenter, refunds will not be offered for this event.

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