Saul Williams and Matisyahu - Black Stacey

Saul Williams and Matisyahu - Black Stacey

MATISYAHU & FRIENDS - SUMMER UNITY TOUR 2007

311, MATISYAHU & FRIENDS - SUMMER UNITY TOUR 2007
LOTS OF TICKETS NOW ON SALE!!

COME JOIN THE CELEBRATION. THE CONCERT EVENT OF THE SUMMER!!

Ticket Info and Support Band Lineups below, with more support bands to be announced soon.

6/28 ST LOUIS, MO 311, Matisyahu, The Rivalry Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 314-989-8080 6/29 KANSAS CITY, MO 311, Matisyahu, The Rivalry Westport Street Party On-Sale NOW: 816-931-3330 Tix also at Beaumont Club 7/1 OMAHA, NE 311, Matisyahu, Swizzletree Westfair Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 402-393-8775 7/2 LITTLE ROCK, AR 311, Matisyahu, The Rivalry Metroplex On-Sale NOW Info Line: 501-217-5113 7/4 AUSTIN, TX 311, Matisyahu, Particle The Backyard On-Sale NOW Info Line: 512.263.4146 GetTix.net, 1-866-443-8849 7/5 AUSTIN, TX 311, Matisyahu, Particle The Backyard On-Sale NOW Info Line: 512.263.4146 GetTix.net, 1-866-443-8849 7/6 DALLAS, TX 311, Matisyahu, Particle Smirnoff Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 214-421-1111 House of Blues Concerts - Smirnoff 7/8 HOUSTON, TX 311, Matisyahu, Particle The Woodlands On-Sale NOW Info Line: 281-363--3300 7/10 BATON ROUGE, LA 311, Matisyahu, Particle River Center On-Sale NOW Info Line: 225-389-7609 Box Office: 225-389-4940 7/11 BIRMINGHAM, AL 311, Matisyahu, Particle Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 205-985-0703 Box Office: 205-985-4900 7/12 JACKSONVILLE, FL 311, Matisyahu, Particle Memorial Arena On-Sale NOW Info Line: 904-630-3900 7/14 MEMPHIS, TN 311, Matisyahu, Particle Mud Island On sale 6/2 Box Office: 901-576-7222 7/15 PENSACOLA, FL 311, Matisyahu, Particle Civic Center On-Sale NOW Box Office: 850-432-0800 7/17 WEST PALM BEACH, FL 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat Sound Advice Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 561-793-0445 7/18 TAMPA, FL 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat Ford Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Box Office: 813-740-2446 7/19 ATLANTA, GA 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 404-443-5090 7/20 CHARLOTTE, NC 311, Matisyahu Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info Line: 704-549-5555 Box Office: 704-549-1292 7/22 VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat VA Beach Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Box Office: 757-368-3000 Next Tix: 757-671-8100 7/25 HOLMDEL, NJ 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat w/ Pato Banton PNC Art Center On-Sale NOW Box Office: 732-335-8698 7/26 WANTAGH, NY 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat w/ Pato Banton Jones Beach Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Boxoffice: 516-221-1000 7/28 PHILADELPHIA, PA 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat w/ Pato Banton Penns Landing On-Sale NOW Box Office: 215-922-2386

7/29 BOSTON, MA 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat w/ Pato Banton Tweeter Center On-Sale NOW Box Office: 508-339-2331 7/30 SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY 311, Matisyahu, & More SPAC on sale 6/9. Box Office: 518-587-3330 7/31 ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 311, Matisyahu, Shootyz Groove Borgata Casino on sale 6/9. Box Office: 609-317-1000 8/2 COLUMBUS, OH 311, Matisyahu, Shootyz Groove Promowest Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Info: 614-461-5483 8/3 CLEVELAND, OH 311, Matisyahu, Shootyz Groove Tower City On-Sale NOW Box Office: 216-522-4822 8/5 BALTIMORE, MD (DC) 311, Matisyahu & More (festival show) Pilmco Race Course On-Sale NOW: 1-800-551-seat 8/6 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 311, Matisyahu The Lawns On-Sale NOW Box Office: 317-231-0000 8/8 CINCINNATI, OH 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat w/ Pato Banton Riverbend Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Box Office: 513-232-6220 8/9 DETROIT, MI 311, Matisyahu, The English Beat w/ Pato Banton DTE Energy Center On-Sale NOW Box Office: 248-377-0100 8/11 CHICAGO, IL 311, Matisyahu & TBA Northery Island on sale 6/2. Info Line: 312.540.2668 Box Office: 312-540-2667 8/12 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 311, Matisyahu & TBA Roy Wilkins Auditorium On-Sale NOW Info Line: 651-265-4800 Box Office: 651-726-8240 8/13 DES MOINES, IA 311, Matisyahu Val Air Ballroom On-Sale 6/2 Box Office: 515-223-6152 8/15 DENVER, CO 311, Matisyahu, & Dirty Heads Red Rocks Amphitheatre On-Sale NOW Box Office: 303-295-4444 8/16 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 311, Matisyahu, & Dirty Heads Usana Amphitheatre on-sale 6/9. Info Line: 801-955-6620 smithstix.com/, 801-467-8499 8/18 SAN DIEGO, CA 311, Matisyahu, & The English Beat w/ Pato BantonCoors Amphitheatre on-sale 6/9. Info Line: 619-671-3600 8/19 IRVINE, CA 311, Matisyahu, & TBA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on-sale tba. Info Line: 949-855-6111 Box Office: 949-855-6937 8/21 PHOENIX, AZ 311, Matisyahu, & TBA Dodge Theatre On Sale NOW 8/22 SANTA BARBARA, CA 311, Matisyahu, & Dirty Heads County Bowl on sale 6/16. Info Line: 805-962-7411 Box Office: 805-962-7411 8/26 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 311, Matisyahu, & Dirty Heads The Concourse on-sale 6/24. Info Line: 415-371-5500 Tickemaster: 415-421-8497 8/28 PORTLAND, OR 311, Matisyahu, & Dirty Heads Edgefield On Sale NOW Info Line: 503-669-8610 BoxOffice: 503-225-0047 8/29 SEATTLE, WA 311, Matisyahu, & TBA Marymoor Amphitheatre On Sale NOW: 206-628-0888

THE RIVALRY
The Rivalry is a high-energy rock quartet from Long Island, NY that formed i n the summer of 2005. The band last toured the U.S. with Alien Ant Farm and will join 311's Summer Unity Tour in support of their full-length record ent itled "Emergency Broadcast" out now (online release). The new record, which contains 11 songs, was produced by Mike Cosgrove of Alien Ant Farm and mixed by Chad Sexton of 311. With influences ranging from Jeff Buckley to Glassjaw, with the raw melodic style of the Police, The Rivalry are ready to rock you! For more info, visit: www.myspace.com/therivalry and www.therivalry.net


THE ENGLISH BEAT
Hailing from Birmingham, England, The Beat rushed on to the music scene in 1979, at a time of social, political and musical upheaval. Into this storm came The Beat, trying to calm the waters with their simple message of unity set to a great beat. The band blends soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these pieces they create an infectious rhythm. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, The Beat became one of the most popular and influential bands of the British ska movement. The band has toured the
world , with such artists as David Bowie, The Police, REM, The Clash, The Talking He ads, The Pretenders, and The Specials. Be sure to check out this band of musicial history and good-timin'-grooves for yourself! For more info, visit: www.thebeatuk.com


PATO BANTON
Reggae great Pato Banton is going to join The English Beat for eight of the shows this summer!! He's going to join vocals for English Beat songs, a few Pato songs, General Public songs and The Specials songs. Dave Wakeling of the English Beat says, "it should definitely nice up the dance." Yes indeed. The groove just got bigger! Pato will be with the Beat for the shows in: Gilford, New Jersey, New York, Philly, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit and San Diego. For more info, visit: www.patobanton.com

Matisyahu Seeking New Fans On 311 Tour

Matisyahu Seeking New Fans On 311 Tour

May 15, 2007, 10:55 AM ET
John Benson, Cleveland

Matisyahu admits that when his manager first suggested a summer tour opening for 311, the Brooklyn-based reggae rapper wasn't sure it was such a good idea.

"My manager said, 'No, you don't understand, they have 10,000 to 15,000 that they draw in every market across America,'" he tells Billboard.com. "Supposedly they have a huge draw, even bigger than mine. We don't have a record out or a single out on the radio, so we can do a headlining tour and play in front of our same fans, or we can go out with a band that has fans that probably would dig my music that might not know of me and try to get in front of some new people.

With a new band lineup, the 27-year-old devoutly Jewish artist is looking forward to reinterpreting much of his catalog with new musicianship on the upcoming touring leg, which begins in early June with a handful of dates in Europe, Hawaii and Alaska before joining 311 until the end of August.

The set list could feature a few covers, including his version of the Police's "Message in a Bottle" and his take of John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels," which he recorded for the upcoming album "Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur."

As for the follow-up to 2006's "Youth," there are ideas for new songs floating around. One such track is currently titled "Dream Awake," which could see stage time this summer.

"The real record will come out probably next spring or so," Matisyahu says. "I've been really focused the last six months, spending my time on trying to just develop the content and the idea of the record, before we go into the studio, which is a lot different than I've done it before. Before, I've just kind of listened to some music and let my free association kind of take over and just write whatever is on my mind. This I'm kind of planning out much more."

Currently that planning revolves around Matisyahu studying the psychedelic works of Rabbi Nachman. "Right now, I really haven't started with the music yet, which is why it's different for me," Matisyahu says. "Usually it's music first and then the lyrics come. But I'm trying to really spend this time in developing the content and developing the story and the outline for the record because I want it to be a real theme-driven record."

Matisyahu Live in Johannesburg South Africa

Matisyahu Live in Johannesburg South Africa

Matisyahu w/Trevor Hall Live 12/21/06 Beat Box

Matisyahu w/Trevor Hall Live Providence RI 12/21/06 Beat Box

Will touch your heart. Matis and Trevor Hall making beautiful music together! This is my favorite clip! Powerful!

Jerusalem Live

Jerusalem Live

311 rolls out summer tour with Matisyahu

311 rolls out summer tour with Matisyahu

Reggae-rockers 311 have assembled a major summer outing that will take them all over the US from June through August.

The "Summer Unity Tour" begins June 21 in Tucson, AZ, with American-Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu providing support on most dates, along with another act yet to be announced. A majority of the shows will take place at outdoor venues.

The itinerary is included below, while ticket on-sale information and a rundown of the dates on which Matisyahu is scheduled to appear are available at 311's website.

Matisyahu ACL

Matisyahu ACL

Matisyahu interview in Israel

Matisyahu to Perform Two Shows in Israel

by Benyamin Bresky

(IsraelNN.com) “Check for your chometz [leavened products that must be disposed of before Passover –ed.] and then come party.” So says popular singer Matisyahu who will be playing two shows this week in Israel right before the start of Passover. The singer spoke on Israel National Radio’s 'The Beat.'

Click here for an mp3 download of the exclusive audio interview.

The singer’s latest release is a CD and DVD combination, which includes seven new songs and concert footage from his first concert series in Israel from December 2005. The singer is looking forward to his return to the stage in Israel and is even in the process of making Israel his permanent home.

His tour continues to other nations after Israel. “In different countries there’s somewhat of a different reaction,” says Matisyahu, “but there’s definitely a universal thing that happens with music probably more than anything else in people, where those lines get crossed and some human thing in them just comes out.”

Born Mathew Miller in New York, Matisyahu first broke onto the scene performing ‘Hasidic reggae.’ His 2004 release Shake off the Dust... Arise contained roots-style Jamaican reggae with lyrics based on the Torah, Hasidic teachings and other Jewish subjects. The novelty led to appearances on national TV shows in the United States where he told the story of his love for reggae and his return to a Jewish traditional lifestyle through the Chabad movement.

The image of the tall, bearded man in a black hat singing rapid-fire rap and reggae made him an underground sensation. His second album, Live at Stubb’s shot up the Top 40 Billboard charts earning him an unprecedented Billboard Top Reggae Artist.

In 2006 Matisyahu released Youth which also topped the Billboard charts and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Reggae Artist. He lost to Ziggy Markey, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley, however another Jewish group, The Klezmatics won the award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Before the Matisyahu phenomenon, the only time a Jewish oriented song received mainstream airplay was Tzena Tzena Tzena by The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins in the early 1950s.

Although Matisyahu is seen as a reggae artist, he doesn’t necessarily stick to a strict interpretation of it. “Hopefully my sound is developing,” said Matisyahu in a phone call on the road in Israel. “Hopefully I am able to put together different sounds. The music that I make is not based on any one specific line of music. I love and I hear so many different interesting sounds. That’s what I’ve tried to do in the past and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Matisyahu is already writing material for his next album. “There will be sounds ranging from electronic music to African music to reggae to hip hop to rock. So it will be a real combination,” he says.

Matisyahu is also experimenting lyrically and expanding his citations of Jewish philosophy to include other hassidic masters aside from the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. He says future lyrics will include the teaching of the 19th century Hasidic leader Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Rabbi Nachman is a popular source of inspiration for musicians in Israel due to his focus on music, folk tales and meditation.

“I don’t know if I want to put it out there yet,” says Matisyahu of his future projects. “There was a dream that Rebbe Nachman had and he said that all of his teachings are based on this dream. I have also been particularly interested in The Story of the Seven Beggars since I have been here in Israel.”

Matisyahu also performed briefly this week with Israeli Hadag Nahash whom he met previously in the United States. Hadag Nahash performs a self-described mix of hip-hop, funk and jazz and often uses bitingly sarcastic lyrics from a liberal and secular point of view.

“A couple of years ago they had a show at the Knitting Factory [a prominent concert club in New York],” related Matisyahu. “My manager at the time wanted to bring me there. I asked them if I could get on stage and they were probably like, “who’s this Hasidic guy?” They had never really heard of me before. I got up there with them and it was really cool. It’s was a real powerful moment. And now two years later after my success to come back and collaborate is nice. I like doing that in different countries where I am collaborating with different artists.”

In addition, Matisyahu has also joined international pop star Sting on stage in Israel and participated in an impromptu street performance in Jerusalem with the popular reggae/world-music group Aharit HaYamim.

“I was eating at Big Apple Pizza on Yaffo Street,” recalls Matisyahu. “It sounded really cool. I had a concert that night at [Jerusalem concert club] The Lab.” Minutes after Matisyahu left the microphone, he was surrounded by enthusiastic fans. Today his popularity has only increased.

Other recent projects have been the annual benefit concert for HASC - The Hebrew Academy for Special Children. Although visually, Matisyahu has the same black hat and button-down white shirt as the other performers, his mix of rock guitars and Caribbean rhythm is a stark contrast to the other artists.

“If a Jewish person is making music with some roots and some foundation within Judaism, that’s what I would consider Jewish music,” comments the singer on the subject. “The ideas behind the music and the meaning behind it – that’s what would make it Jewish.”

Joining Matisyahu in concert this week will be Daniel Zamir, an old friend from the New School, a university in New York City attended by Matisyahu and his fellow band members. Zamir’s Jewish jazz, particularly his newly released album Amen is becoming increasingly popular in Israel.

“He was a young guy in music school and known to be this protégé,” says Matisyahu of his friend. “John Zorn, the famous saxophone player [and founder of Tzadik Records] was his mentor. He and I were both doing teshuvah. We started hanging out a little bit. After yeshiva, we came back for the graduation. I look down the hallway and see this fully religious Jew. And he sees me now with a beard and everything. He went through some pretty intense changes. And that, I think, is a good thing. I think it’s a good thing to always be changing.”

source, pictures taken from flickr.com