Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 88

The 2016 HONK NYC! Festival 10th Annual International Street Band Explosion October 11 to 15 2016

From a media release:

The 2016 HONK NYC! Festival
10th Annual International Street Band Explosion
Featuring
HUNGRY MARCH BAND 
EMPEROR NORTON'S STATIONARY MARCH BAND
MARACATU NY
ZLATNE USTE BALKAN BRASS BAND
MERASI: MASTER MUSICIANS OF RAJASTHAN

• Tuesday, October 11 to Saturday October 15 
• All Shows $20 or Less - Most Shows Free
• Check it out at the link

Brooklyn, NYC - HONK NYC!, the raucous annual international street band extravaganza, celebrates 10 glorious years in 2016 with a fresh batch of riotous rhythms and jubilant jams. More than 300 musicians from 20 ensembles will march through Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, and Jersey City from October 11 to October 15, presenting a cavalcade of free and low-priced performances in clubs, parks, gardens, schools, museums, and other public spaces.
Environmental Encroachment
HONK NYC! features a terrific selection of New York-based musicians, including:
Slavic Soul Party, the sweetest Balkan soul gypsy funk this side of the AtlanticFunkrust Brass Band, a 20-piece crew bringing a unique blend of punk, disco, EDM, metal, funk, and New Orleans second-line sounds Funkrusk Brass BandMaracatu New York, the city's first and only ensemble dedicated to traditional Maracatu de Baque Virado and other musical styles from the Northeast of BrazilSpanglish Fly, impresarios of Latin bugalúThe Nevermind Orchestra, a psycho-jazz-grunge-brass Nirvana cover bandMarching Cobras, a multi-city ensemble program providing opportunities for artistic expression to teens in NYC, Westchester, and ConnecticutFrank London, a Grammy-winning  trumpeter, bandleader, and composer playing klezmer and world musicHungry March Band, the city's legendary brass and spectacle ensembleZlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band - the region's premiere Balkan brass ensembleUnderground Horns - playing Afro-funk, New Orleans, Bhangra, and beyondKenny Wollesen & The Tigers - Spontaneous, organic, ephemeral improvised marching musicKings County Pipes & Drums - Brooklyn-based pipe and drum band started as a lark in 2012 with the serious mission of having fun


HONK NYC! is proud to welcome a host of national and international traveling bands, including:
Boston's Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, performing a wild meld of circus punk, instrumental noise, prog brass, and experimental big-band beatsLe Fanfare Invisible from Paris, providing a joyous and noisy resistance to cynicismChicago performance art music-and-spectacle ensemble Environmental EncroachmentThe endlessly energetic Le Pompier Poney Club, based in Marseille and with members from across France, Belgium, and Rome, and New YorkSecond Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band, a raucous, stomp-your-foot-and-belt-out-the-choruses, 30-member-strong New Orleans-style troupeAnd, in a very special appearance, MERASI: Master Musicians of Rajasthan, will perform on Thursday, October 13 at WFMU's Monty Hall presented in collaboration with Rob Weisberg's Transpacific Sound Paradise.This year's HONK NYC! includes a day in Staten Island, with a HONK NYC! Pop-Up at the Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, and an evening concert at Everything Goes Café.  HONK NYC! will also present its 3rd annual HONK! for More Gardens Parade on the Lower East Side, co-presented with More Gardens.
Frank LondonAn artist-run festival, primarily underwritten via crowd-funding and small individual donations, the annual cavalcade brings a sense of anarchic, joyful, participatory celebration to audiences. HONK NYC! weaves together musicians and performers from around the globe who share a passion for playing and preserving the grassroots global tradition of street music.

HONK NYC! 2016 is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and also in part by a DCA Premier Grant from Staten Island Arts, with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. HONK NYC's 2016 programming is presented in conjunction with the following organizations: Ariana's List, More Gardens!, Rubulad and WFMU Radio's Transpacific Sound Paradise.
Slavic Soul PartyFor complete festival details, including information on the Festival's closing night show, community events and school programs related to the HONK NYC! lineup, ticket sales, venue information and lineup changes, visit the HONK NYC! website, the official HONK NYC! Facebook page or the HONK NYC! Kickstarter.

Pompier Poney Club

Off Broadway Ticket Deal: Nat Turner in Jerusalem $25 thru October 16 2016

From a media release:

$25 Tix | NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM
A world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop
Now playing thru Oct 16, 2016

1831. Jerusalem, Virginia.

In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave uprising that shook the conscience of the nation. Turner's startling account of his prophecy and the insurrection was recorded and published by attorney Thomas R. Gray. Woven with vivid imagery and indelible lyricism, NYTW 2005 Fellow Nathan Alan Davis makes his New York debut with this timely new play that imagines Turner’s final night in a jail cell in Jerusalem, Virginia, as he is revisited by Gray and they reckon with what has passed and what the dawn will bring.

Nat Turner in Jerusalem examines the power of an individual's resolute convictions and their seismic reverberations through time. Megan Sandberg-Zakian (The Convert) directs a cast including Phillip James Brannon (Bootycandy) and Rowan Vickers (The Sensuality Party).

• Get tickets for $25* with code NT25 or 25NTIJ while supplies last! 
• Buy your tickets at the link and enter code NT25 or 25NTIJ.
• Or call 212-460-5475 and mention code NT25 or 25NTIJ.

EAST, Miami Hotel - Luxury & Style

From a media release:

EAST, Miami hotel offers Canadian travellers the ultimate in luxury and style
Swire Hotels officially opens first North American property

TORONTO, ON — Swire Hotels has officially opened its first-ever North American property EAST, Miami. Located in the heart of Miami’s Brickell district, EAST, Miami will be the anchor hotel at Brickell City Centre, the $1.05 billion, 5.4 million square foot mixed-use development.
East Hotel lobby. Photo courtesy of Swire Hotels.The hotel boasts 352 guest rooms which includes eight suites and 89 residence suites, two restaurants, a poolside bar and lounge, a rooftop bar and garden, as well as 20,000 square feet of event space and outdoor venues offering phenomenal views of the Miami skyline.

Building upon the success of the EAST brand, which includes EAST, Hong Kong and EAST, Beijing, the new Miami property offers a distinctive and unconventional experience for travellers seeking innovation, style and personalized service.

“I am incredibly proud of the hotel, restaurant, and bar experiences that our team has created for EAST, Miami. It is original, diverse and keeps with the company’s passion to provide exceptional service and outstanding guest experience,” said Brian Williams, Managing Director of Swire Hotels.
Swimming pool at EAST, Miami. Photo courtesy Swire Hotels.Business travellers and first time visitors to the hotel can receive special packages that allow guests to experience all that EAST, Miami has to offer. Current hotel packages include access to a variety of incentives including complimentary Wi-Fi, continental breakfast, access to Sugar and special room rates.

• Full package rates can be found online.

EAST, Miami features contemporary rooms and suites with balconies offering iconic views of the cityscape and Biscayne Bay, floor-to-ceiling windows, a walk-in rain shower and complimentary guest WiFi. Guests can expect convenient and eco-friendly amenities, including keyless entry and paperless check-in and check-out.

EAST suite. Photo courtesy of Swire Hotels.Restaurant and bar experiences at EAST, Miami
Guests of EAST, Miami will be treated to two signature gastro experiences, designed by Los Angeles-based design firm, Studio Collective.

Sitting atop the hotel at 40 storeys up, Sugar was recently voted best rooftop bar in the United States by Conde Nast Traveler during the hotel’s soft opening. Built upon two levels, the bar offers a city oasis with unimpeded views of the Miami skyline and an Asian-inspired garden, filled with lush greenery. At the heart of Sugar is a Balinese bar made of reclaimed oak, while the upper level features a wrap around deck made of Brazilian Teak. Sugar seamlessly transitions from sunset cocktails to an evening experiencing Miami’s nightlife under the stars.

Sugar at EAST, Miami. Photo courtesy of Swire Hotels. Located on the fifth floor of the hotel, Quinto La Huella is the first-ever outpost of Uruguay’s beachside Parador La Huella, recognized as one of Latin America’s best restaurants. With an expansive 9,700 square-feet dining area and seating for 359 guests, Quinto La Huella provides a one-of-a-kind dining experience including a parrilla at the heart of the kitchen, wood-fired ovens fueled with regional red and white oak, a sushi counter highlighting Florida’s coastline, and a poolside outdoor dining area. Helming the kitchen are the executive kitchen staff which include Nano Crespo, Executive Chef of Quinto La Huella; Alejandro Morales, Executive Chef of Parador La Huella; and Florencia Courreges, Executive Pastry Chef of Parador La Huella.

Quinto La Huella at EAST, Miami. Photo courtesy of Swire Hotels.Amenities at EAST, Miami
The hotel is home to BEAST (Body by EAST) a state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness facility with cutting edge technology.

The property also offers 20,000 square feet of event space and outdoor venues. On the 39th floor is a 3,300-square-foot ballroom, The Crush, which offers a 270 degree view of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. The 38th floor houses two 1,600-square-foot event spaces Rise and Set, an 850-square-foot boardroom High Noon, and four workshop rooms for intimate meetings and gatherings located on the sixth floor.

There's an amazing Otis Series 7 Compass High Speed Elevator to get you wherever you want quickly



Located at 788 Brickell Plaza, Miami, Florida 33131, the hotel is centrally located within a 15 minute drive from the Miami International Airport, and situated on top of Brickell City Centre – conveniently connected to popular districts such as Wynwood, the Design District and South Beach. Standard hotel rates varies seasonally starting at $259 (USD) in low season and $459 (USD) in high season, depending on availability and package deals. Reservations, special offers and more information can be found at www.east-miami.com/.
Website: www.east-miami.comTwitter: @EastmiamiInstagram: @eastmiaFacebook: EAST, MiamiHashtag: #feelingtotallyateast #atEAST #EASTMiami Brickell City Center. Photo courtesy of Swire Hotels.About Brickell City Centre
Brickell City Centre is a landmark $1.05-billion, 4.9-million square-foot mixed‐use development in downtown Miami from Swire Properties Inc, one of South Florida’s leading international developers of real estate known for its $1 billion master‐planned development of Brickell Key. The project’s first phase includes a luxury and premium shopping center, two residential towers, EAST, Miami hotel, and two mid-rise office towers. The project is LEED®-registered for Neighborhood Development – currently one of the largest in the U.S. Sustainability elements include the $30 million CLIMATE RIBBON™; a masterpiece of art and science, the elevated trellis will span 150,000 square feet, connecting the project’s three city blocks and acting as an environmental management system. As the largest private-sector project currently under construction in Miami, Brickell City Centre began vertical construction in 2013 and the first phase of construction began completion end of 2015. Phase II is scheduled for commencement end of 2017. More information is available at www.brickellcitycentre.com.

A look at the opening:

Toronto Restaurant News: The Saucy Pierogi - 1 Year Anniversary and New Menu

From a media release:

The Saucy Pierogi Celebrates Their Restaurant’s 1 Year Anniversary - Unveils New Menu

• Check it out

TORONTO, September 26, 2016 - Toronto hot spot The Saucy Pierogi, known for cheap drinks and Eastern European comfort food is celebrating its 1 year anniversary this month, in the Dundas West neighbourhood. To mark the occasion, The Saucy Pierogi team has unveiled their new expanded menu, which features a slew of new affordable sharing plates, boasting flavours for everyone’s palette.

Warsaw born brothers Paul and Konrad Obara opened the doors to the first brick and mortar location of The Saucy Pierogi (TSP) last year, after touring the GTA’s festival circuit as a pop up restaurant since 2013.  “After nearly one year of operations we are excited to introduce our revamped menu which includes several new traditional Polish dishes along with new premium filling pierogi,” says Konrad Obara.

The Saucy Pierogi’s new menu features 3 premium new-school Polish dumplings filled with braised beef shank, rock crab, and duck.  Other additions to their sophomore menu include some Eastern European favorites such as Beef goulash served over a potato pancake, their rendition of barszcz soup which includes house-made uszka (polish style tortellini) in a rich beet broth, and the star entree Kopytka - braised duck over Polish-style gnocchi.

Alongside the new items, the menu will feature TSP staples such as the cheddar potato pierogi served with cheddar beer sauce, sour cream and bacon, and their famous schnitzel sliders which Toronto foodies rave about.  All menu items are made in house including the pierogi which are hand-made in the restaurant production space.  The cuisine very much derives from traditional Polish culinary techniques, mixed with bold new flavour combinations.

The Saucy Pierogi is pleased to continue to bring the concept of ‘Pierogarnia’ to Toronto, with menu innovations led by customer demand. In addition to the expanding menu selections, the Dundas West restaurant continues to build an Ontario-centric craft beer and cider menu, an assortment of Polish beers, frozen vodkas, and seasonal cocktails to accompany a value-driven menu for pierogi lovers.

#Travel Scotland: The Shetland Islands

With material from a release:

Travel Scotland:
The Shetland Islands

Been watching Shetland on Netflix? The show follows the travails of a detective grappling with murder, corruption and more on the islands that lie between Scotland and Scandinavia, and where the weather often plays a role in the proceedings.

The rugged, rocky beauty of the Shetland Islands - actually a subarctic archipelago - and the unspoiled coastline are the usual draws for tourists. The Shetland Islands are located off the northeast coast of Scotland where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea, and includes about 566 square miles of land and just over 23,200 people.
The largest island is 'Mainland' (351 square miles / 899km2)Yell (212km2)Unst (120km2)Fetlar (38km2)Bressay (28 km2)Whalsay (23 km2)Burra (16 km2)Eight smaller ones are also inhabited, leaving more than 85 islands, holms and skerries to the sheep, the birds and the seals.
There's a long history of human habitation in Shetland that dates back six thousand years to the Mesolithic period. Shetland was a Norwegian province until 1469 when it was gifted to Scotland in lieu of the dowry of a Danish princess.

Lerwick
Lerwick is Shetland's only town, with a population of about 7,500 - although about half of the islands' 22,000 people live within 10 miles of the burgh.

Founded as an unofficial marketplace to service 17th century Dutch herring fleets, Lerwick took a long time to grow. Because of its illegal status (and alleged immorality!) the straggling hamlet around the shore of Ler Wick ('muddy bay') was demolished by order of the Scalloway court in 1615 and 1625. The Dutch burnt the fort in 1673 and the French set fire to Lerwick in 1702.

Today, it's got a buzzing night life scene, along with a range of accommodations.
LerwickArts & Music
The landscape and the clear, northern light of Shetland have inspired hundreds of artists, from the 19th century illustrator John T Reid - whose 1869 volume, ‘Art Rambles in Shetland’ is still in print – to some of the Scottish Colourists in the early 20th century. Artists working in Shetland, or with other strong local connections, have formed a group called Veer North and their website contains examples of their work.
Check out the visual arts scene with VeerNorth.
The Shetland Islands have a unique culture with a strong musical tradition, including a unique style of fiddle playing. The particular style of Shetland fiddle playing has many admirers and Shetland performers such as Aly Bain, Willie Hunter and Fiddlers’ Bid regularly tour world-wide.




When it comes to venues, Shetland is particularly well supplied. Mareel’s 600-capacity concert hall incorporates the latest in sound systems. The Clickimin sports hall can accommodate concerts for up to 1200 people, and Shetland’s modern network of country halls also handles many musical events. At the other end of the scale, there are regular jam sessions in local pubs, among which those in the upstairs Lounge Bar in Lerwick have become legendary.
In 2017, the Shetland Folk Festival will have its 37th run.There's a strong tradition of textile arts in the area that you can check out at the Shetland Textile Museum as well as shops in the area for that perfect Shetland sweater.
Download the Shetland Craft Trail map at shetlandartsandcrafts.co.uk.
Natural Shetland
Along with human culture, Shetland ponies and Shetland sheepdogs are unique to the area, along with many other domesticated and wild animals, including seabirds which nest along the rocky cliffs.
Shetland poniesShetland is prime territory for nature hikes, spotting sea mammals, and bird watching, including tens of thousands of breeding Gannets, alongside Guillemots, Puffins, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Fulmars at the Sumburgh Head, Noss or Hermaness nature reserves. These three large seabird colonies are easily accessible, Sumburgh Head especially so. On Noss and Hermaness, and on coastal moorland elsewhere, you’ll probably encounter Great Skuas ('Bonxies'), famously rare and aggressive, gull-sized birds, which are fond of dive-bombing hill walkers.

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival - Annual Art Crawl and Exhibitions October 21 2016

From a media release:

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Presenting Sponsor: Bell Media
Annual Art Crawl and Exhibitions - October 21, 2016
Featuring Wairua and Indigenous Movie Monsters

17TH IMAGINENATIVE FILM + MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL
OCTOBER 19-23, 2016

TORONTO - The 17th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is proud to announce its visual art programme including installations, exhibitions and the annual Art Crawl with artist talks on October 21, 2016 at the renowned 401 Richmond Building.
imagineNATIVE Art CrawlimagineNATIVE will present the Canadian exhibition premiere of Wairua, featuring three works relating to the Māori concept of the soul by artists Rona Ngahuia Osborne and Dan Mace. The three works on display at A Space Gallery will include: Te Taki, a video installation where the viewer is greeted by Māori warriors and the taki, a fundamental aspect of formal pōwhiri (ritual of welcome); Whetūrangi, an immersive audiovisual installation that explores a cluster of seven stars known in New Zealand as Matariki, and presents them in the form of seven women who reflect characteristics of the star she represents; and Elemental, consisting of four projections of the elements HAU (air), WAI (water), AHI (fire), and WHENUA (earth) with moving portraits and looping textures.

imagineNATIVE will also present Indigenous Movie Monsters by multimedia artist Jay Soule, aka CHIPPEWAR, with four pieces from the 10-part series that indigenizes the classic horror movie poster. Each work – at the A Space Gallery Windows – offers a genre-specific commentary on the representation of Indigenous peoples on the silver screen, particularly in the early decades of cinema, with Tribe of Dracula, Curse of the Cayuga, Bride of Frankensioux and The Invisible Warrior.

The imagineNATIVE Art Crawl – supported by the Indigenous Visual Culture Program at OCADU – returns with seven stops at five galleries on Friday, October 21. In addition to Wairua and Indigenous Movie Monsters, the Art Crawl will also feature Folding Forced Utopias For You, about Indigenous architecture and the forced resettlement of arctic communities in Canada, Greenland and Russia; Ore Body, investigating how value of land and resources is created and assessed through Western measures of wealth; wnoondwaamin | we hear them, uses sound waves created by three artists to access knowledge and memory; and Goldilocks tahnon Ohkwari, a video installation that addresses issues surrounding colonization and language preservation with an adaptation of the popular fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears told in the Mohawk language with English subtitles.

The Art Crawl will make a final stop at Artscape Sandbox for Records and Reconstructions: Lindsay McIntyre's Portraits in Process, which features a live performance followed by a screening of works by McIntyre, and films she has chosen that speak to her own art practice.

More programming for the 17th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will be announced in the coming weeks.

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world’s largest Indigenous festival showcasing innovation in film, video, audio and digital media. The Festival presents the most compelling and distinctive works from Canada and around the globe, reflecting the diversity of the world’s Indigenous nations and illustrating the vitality and excellence of Native art and culture in contemporary media.

WairuaimagineNATIVE Art Crawl
Supported by the Indigenous Visual Culture Program at OCADU
Artist Talks and Receptions
Friday, October 21, 2016
5 - 8pm / FREE
401 Richmond Street West

Wairua
Exhibition Premiere
A Space Gallery, Suite 110 / September 27–October 29, 2016
Artist Talk: 5:30pm

Indigenous Movie Monsters
A Space Gallery Windows / September 27 – October 29, 2016
Artist Talk: 5:30pm

Folding Forced Utopias For You
World Premiere
Gallery 44 (Main gallery), Suite 120 / October 21 - December 3, 2016
Artist Talk: 6:00pm


Ore Body
Gallery 44 (Vitrines) / October 21 - December 3, 2016
Artist Talk: 6:00pm

Ore Bodywnoondwaamin | we hear them
World Premiere
Trinity Square Video, suite 121 / October 22 - December 10, 2016
Tuesday through Saturday, 12 ­– 6pm
Artist Talk: 6:30pm with Performance by Jeneen Frei Njootli

Goldilocks tahnon Ohkwari
YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Suite 140 / October 8 - December 3, 2016
Artist Talk: 7:00pm

Records and Reconstructions: Lindsay McIntyre's Portraits in Process
Artscape Sandbox - 301 Adelaide Street West
Friday, October 21, 2016
8:00pm – 9:15pm. Doors open at 7:30pm
$8 General / $5 Pleasure Dome Members
FREE to imagineNATIVE Delegate Passholders.
Tickets available at venue 1 hour prior to doors opening.




imagineNATIVE Early Bird Ticket Packages and Delegate Passare on sale at a reduced price until September 29, 2016Call - TIFF Box Office on 416-599-TIFF (8433)Online - https://tytix.tiff.net/scripts/max/10.17.40.32-44000/maxweb.exeIn Person - TIFF Box Office at 350 King St W, Toronto, ON
For more information please call 416.585.2333 or visit www.imagineNATIVE.orgfacebook/imagineNATIVE / @imagineNATIVE

Traditional Brazilian Music - Arcomusical: MeiaMeia (innova Recordings - 28 October 2016)

From a media release:

CD Release
Arcomusical: MeiaMeia 
innova Recordings - 28 October 2016

• Buy the CD

The traditional Afro-Brazilian berimbau is a disarmingly simple instrument: a single steel string, a wooden bow, a resonating gourd. But on MeiaMeia, the berimbau is literally reinvented. Thanks to custom tuneable instruments expertly hand-crafted by David “Snappy” White, composers Gregory Beyer and Alexis C. Lamb and the dedicated talent of ensemble Projeto Arcomusical take the berimbau to new heights of collaboration, interplay and communication.

In the spring of 2013, Beyer and Lamb began working together in an independent study under the auspices of the Undergraduate Artistry and Research Apprenticeship Program at Northern Illinois University. Lamb’s first composition for berimbau, “Descobertas por pau e pedra,” was such a success that the collaboration continued, resulting in a plan to compose an expanding chamber music cycle.

MeiaMeia – which in Portuguese means “half-half” as in “six of one, a half dozen of the other” – is that cycle, a dozen pieces written in Beyer and Lamb’s rich and sophisticated language for everything from a solo instrument to a sextet. Performed by Projeto Arcomusical, the music is fresh, playful, rhythmic, colorful and soulful. Drawing on influences from ambulances in Rome to traditional capoeira to palindromes to numerical patterns to contemporary artists like Imogen Heap and the XX, Beyer and Lamb explore a rich and diverse, intricately bouncy and resonant vocabulary.

Beyer began working with the berimbau in 1999 and has since become a recognized pioneer of the instrument. Projeto Arcomusical has come a long way since its student roots: a fully professional group of excellent musicians capable of performing chamber music of the highest caliber. Such excellence is immediately evident when listening to MeiaMeia.

Nacional Records at the Latin Grammy's 2016

From a media release:

NACIONAL RECORDS 
LATIN GRAMMY NOMINATIONS
Alex Anwandter, The Chamanas and El Guincho
Nominated for Latin GRAMMYs

Alex Anwandter Nominated For Best New Artist and Best Short Form Music Video
• Buy the CD
The Chamanas Nominated for Best New Artist 
• Buy the CD
El Guincho's ‘Comix ft. Mala Rodriguez' - Nominated for Best Short Form Music Video
• Buy the CD

Leading independent label Nacional Records is proud to announce our Latin GRAMMY nominations across a variety of genres and categories, with first time nominations for our artists; Alex Anwandter, The Chamanas, and El Guincho.

Alex Anwandter nabbed two Latin GRAMMY nominations, which include Best New Artist and Best Short Form Music Video for Siempre Es Viernes En Mi Corazón, directed by Alex Anwandter. Chile's Prince of Pop has been on an upward trajectory this year with the release of his critically acclaimed album "Amiga", which debuted number one on iTunes and on Billboard's Top 20 Latin charts. Alex Anwandter has also been earning rave reviews for his writing and directorial film debut, Nunca Vas A Estar Solo, which is currently circulating the film festival circuit where it has picked up a number of awards.



El Paso / Juarez band The Chamanas are nominated for Best New Artist. The fronterizo electro-tinged indie rock band, who just released a deluxe version of their debut album "Once Once", has had a busy year, garnering high accolades from NPR, topping a "Best of the Year” list by iTunes and named as an “Artist to Watch” by Pandora. The Chamanas, who recently toured with indie darlings Beach House, are known for their electrifying live show with inspirations found in desert backdrops, rancheras and heartbreak.



Production wiz El Guincho has also earned his first nomination for Best Short Form Music Video with the Pitchfork-approved track “Comix ft. Mala Rodriguez". The video, which was produced and directed by the Barcelona-based film collective CANADA, is an experimental mind bending homage to hip hop imagery and Asian films with eccentric and highly skilled visual effects. “Comix" comes from El Guincho’s first album in six years, “Hiperasia."

Nacional Records is proud to support these emerging artists and their first time nominations. In a little over a decade, Nacional Records has earned over 80 Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY wins and nominations.

Luisa Maita - The 'New Voice of Brazil' - in Toronto Sept 23 2016

From a media release:

"The New Voice of Brazil" -NPR
Luísa Maita
Friday, September 23rd 2016
in/future: a transformative art experience
Toronto, ON

Ontario Place, West Island
955 Lake Shore Blvd W
Toronto, ON M6K 3B9

• TICKETS
• Buy the album

TORONTO - A young Brazilian singer that NPR has praised as "The New Voice of Brazil", Luísa Maita’s 2016 album Fio da Memória bridges sultry downtempo electronica and Brazilian popular music to boldly redefine Luísa's personal style as well as the soundscape of modern Brazil.

Luísa received the Brazilian equivalent of the GRAMMY for Best New Artist in 2011, had two of her songs featured in the Academy Award-winning film Boyhood, recorded with Daniel Hunt of popular electronic band Ladytron and for British groove masters Da Lata, not to mention writing for and collaborating with some of the biggest stars in Brazilian music. Recently, Luisa lent her distinctive voice to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Luísa and her band have toured extensively performing at major festivals such as Austin City Limits and Pop Montreal. She has performed at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA and for a private Google Zeitgeist event in Phoenix. Luísa appeared live on LA radio station KCRW's trend-setting program “Morning Becomes Eclectic”, as well as NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert", influential music video channel Blogotheque and more.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.luisamaita.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/luisamaitamusic
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/luisamaita

Learn more at www.LuisaMaita.com

Soup Can Theatre Toronto: An In-Concert Version of The Threepenny Opera - Three Performances October 2 2016

From a media release:

Soup Can Theatre is excited to announce an in-concert version of
THE THREEPENNY OPERA

Music by Kurt Weill. Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. English Translation by Marc Blitzstein.
Directed by Sarah Thorpe and Pratik Gandhi
October 2nd 2016 at the Monarch Tavern Toronto

TORONTO - Soup Can Theatre is kicking off the month of Halloween with our favourite musical and the inspiration for our Toronto Fringe hits Love is a Poverty You Can Sell I and II: an in-concert version of THE THREEPENNY OPERA - a dark play with music full of crime, greed, lust, dark humour, and biting social commentary that chronicles the exploits of antiheroic criminal Macheath (aka ‘Mack the Knife’) against the backdrop of 19th century London's seedy underworld. With a haunting score and message, THE THREEPENNY OPERA is Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's most famous collaboration from the Weimar Era.

To put a spin on things, there will be 3 PERFORMANCES in ONE DAY! Sunday October 2nd at 4pm, 6:30pm, and 9pm at the historic Monarch Tavern in the heart of Little Italy. In addition, just 3 PERFORMERS will be playing ALL the roles: Scott Garland (2016 Dora Award Nominee for Three Men in a Boat), Christian Jeffries (from our Love is a Poverty You Can Sell cabarets), and Sarah Thorpe (Soup Can co-founder, MyTheatre's 2015 Fan Favourite Award winner for Heretic), under the baton of our musical director Pratik Gandhi (music director of the Rouge River Winds and resident conductor at Toy Piano Composers), who helmed the music on our productions of Circle Jerk, A Hand of Bridge, Marat/Sade, and Love is a Poverty You Can Sell I and II.

Performance Details:
Where: The Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton Street, Toronto.
When: Sunday, October 2nd, 2016. 4pm, 6:30pm, and 9pm.
Tickets are $13 and are available in person at the venue (cash only) or in advance online at the linkCreative and Production Team:
Producer/Co-Director – Sarah Thorpe
Musical Director/Co-Director – Pratik Gandhi
Event Coordinator – Kathleen Hemsworth
Pianist – Suzan Kim
Graphic Designer – Alyksandra Ackerman

Soup Can Theatre
www.soupcantheatre.com
www.facebook.com/groups/soupcantheatre
www.twitter.com/soupcantheatre