(PR) On March 26th, Bela Fleck will embark on The Africa Project, a memorable 15-city tour featuring collaborations with Toumani Diabate (hailed as the greatest kora player in the world), guitarist Vusi Mahlasela - an inspiration to many in the anti-apartheid movement, blind thumb piano player and "kindred spirit" Anania Ngolia, and D'Gary, a fingerstyle guitar hero who adapts the traditional music of his home country, Madagascar. Throw Down Your Heart is a companion to the award-winning film of the same name, which Bιla and director Sascha Paladino are currently premiering at festivals nationwide. Throw Down Your Heart, the third volume in banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck's renowned Tales From the Acoustic Planet series, is the 11-time Grammy winner's most ambitious project to date and earning some of the best reviews of his career.
Through on-location collaborations with musicians from Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, South Africa and Madagascar, Fleck explores the African origins of the banjo, the prototype of which was brought to American shores by African slaves. Transcending barriers of language and culture, Bιla finds common ground with musicians ranging from local villagers to international superstars such as the Malian diva Oumou Sangare.
Bιla Fleck / The Africa Project Collaborations with Amazing African Musicians
March 26 Pittsfield, MA The Colony Theater
March 27 Ridgefield, CT Playhouse
March 28 Troy, NY Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
March 29 Tarrytown, NY Music Hall
March 30 Reading, PA Berks Jazz Festival
April 1 St. Louis, MO Shelton Concert Hall
April 2 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
April 3 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theater
April 4 Savannah, GA Music Festival
April 5 Gainesville, FL University of Florida
April 7 Durham, NC Duke University
April 8 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
April 9 Falls Church, VA State Theater
April 10 Philadelphia, PA University of Pennsylvania
April 11 New Bedford, MA Zeiterion Theater
Throw Down Your Heart Screenings
March 13-19 San Francisco, CA Roxie Theater
March 13-19 Berkeley, CA Elmwood Theater
March 19 Troy, NY EMPAC
March 28-29 Reading, PA Goggle Works
April 1 Savannah, GA Lucas Theatre
April 16 Silver Springs, MD AFI Silver
April 24-30 New York, NY IFC Center
April 30 Huntington, NY Cinema Arts Centre
May 5 Cleveland, OH Cleveland Museum of Art
June 5-7 St. Louis, MO Webster Univ. Film Series
June 12-14 Houston, TX Museum of Fine Arts
June 18-25 Denver, CO Denver Film Society
