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Jim Messina
June 25thInternational Folk Art Market
July 12thInternational Folk Art Market
July 13thTradiSón
July 14thFelix Y Los Gatos
July 17thCarolyn Wonderland
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July 24thCarolyn Wonderland
July 24thEddie 9V
August 3rdLuke Bulla
August 9thElovated Roots
August 10thKevin Fedarko
August 12thWailing Souls
August 15thMac Sabbath
August 17thMike Dawes
August 18thMike Dawes
August 19thJD Simo
August 20thAndrea Magee's She Rises
August 31stMary Gauthier
September 4thJ2B2
September 5thTab Benoit
September 10thBlack Uhuru
September 12thAlejandro Brittes
September 20thExtravaganza on Museum Hill
September 21stJoe Boyd
September 24thJoe Boyd
September 25thAl Di Meola
October 2ndThe Tannahill Weavers
October 3rdThird World
October 3rdCeú
October 8thJoe P
October 9thThe Bones of JR Jones
October 10thMasters of Hawaiian Music
October 11thMasters of Hawaiian Music
October 12thBuckethead
October 12thPeter Bradley Adams
October 16thPeter Bradley Adams
October 17thIndigenous Heritage Celebration featuring Innastate
October 19thKassa Overall
October 26thKassa Overall
October 27thCimafunk
October 30thKristina Jacobsen
November 17thTopHouse
November 21stJesse Cook
February 2ndJesse Cook
February 3rdJesse Cook
at
The Lensic
Add to Cal
Tickets cost $36, $47 and $55 (plus applicable service charges). They are also available from the Lensic Box Office (505-988-1234).
"I want to take people to places they haven't been." Jesse Cook, Juno-winning master guitarist, known for his intoxicating fusion of world music, has travelled the globe looking for sounds that resonate with him. "I like finding common ground for different music traditions, a space where music from around the world can come together," Cook explains. "A place where modern sounds can mix with ancient timbres."
"There are many borders in our lives. Some others have built, some we create for ourselves. Whenever I ventured beyond the borders of my life, I have been the better for it. I grew up in the cold war, in a world of walls and borders. But then people began to change the way they thought. The walls came down. Europe united, and people began thinking of themselves as global citizens. The rising nationalism of today is exploiting our differences, not celebrating them. We are back to building walls, and I don't want any part of it. Humanity, artistry, joy, and of course, love…these things don't stop at some line on the map. If music is the universal language, maybe there is something it can teach us?"
Cook also helps foster this spirit of cultural exploration visually through his photography on Instagram as well his popular weekly video releases on his YouTube channel and through Facebook.
He was born in Paris, to Canadian parents. The family moved to southern France, where they bought a small home built in the 16th Century, for 100 dollars. "It was like stepping into the Middle Ages," Cook recalls. "Manitas de Plata was popular then, and it was his albums got me interested in the sound of flamenco guitar."
After moving back to Canada, Cook started guitar lessons. "My teacher played flamenco. Then, when I'd visit my dad in France, he was living next door to Nicolas Reyes, the singer of the Gipsy Kings. I saw gipsy kids on the corner playing that way too." It was as if the world conspired to get me interested in this style and I was hooked." It was when he heard the Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin album Friday Night in San Francisco that the die was cast. "I was captivated by the sheer virtuosity and freedom, that people could play whatever they wanted, creating in that space between jazz and flamenco."
As Cook reflects back on his journey so far, "Music has a way of touching your soul, and every tradition on earth has its own way of doing that. When we venture beyond our cultural and geographic borders, we can gain the whole world."