Kirkland Performance Center presents... Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Thursday, January 28, 2016, 8:00PM
Friday, January 29, 2016, 8:00PM

All Seats: $45

For over 50 years, South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo has warmed the hearts of audiences, worldwide, with their uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves and charming onstage banter. Most recently, the four time Grammy Award winning group — including the 2013 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album — celebrated the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking collaboration with Paul Simon on his seminal album, Graceland.

Artist Bio

Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph, then a young farmboy turned factory worker, the group took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Ladysmith is the name of Joseph’s hometown, about three hours west of Durban and 3 hours east of Johannesburg; Black being a reference to the oxen, the strongest of all farm animals; and Mambazo being the Zulu word for chopping axe, a symbol of the group’s ability to “chop down” any singing rival who might challenge them. Their collective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that by the end of the 1960's they were banned from competitions, although they were welcome to participate as entertainers.