PHILLIPS – New England Celtic Arts will present The Sultans of String, at Phillips Area Community Center in Phillips, Me on Thursday, Aug. 3. Curtain is 7 p.m.
Three time JUNO (Canada’s Grammy) nominees Sultans of String are an “energetic and exciting band with talent to burn!” (Maverick Magazine, UK). Serving up messages of hope and cultural harmony alongside a musical passport of Gypsy-jazz, Arabic, Flamenco, Celtic and Cuban rhythms, fiery violin dances with kinetic guitar, while bass lays down unstoppable grooves. Throughout, acoustic strings meet electronic wizardry to create layers and depth of sound. The Sultans were featured with a full hour special on MPBN’s Maine Arts at Skye Theatre in 2012 and most recently performed with Bangor Symphony Orchestra at the Kingfield Pops this past June.
Celebrating a milestone 10 years together, Sultans of String have hit #15 on Billboard’s world music charts, #1 across Canada on world music charts, and received multiple awards and accolades, including a SiriusXM Award, 1st place in the ISC (out of 15,000 entries), 3 Canadian Folk Music Awards, plus invitations to perform/record with such luminaries as The Chieftains, Richard Bona, Ruben Blades, and Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Bandleader/violinist Chris McKhool (Jesse Cook, Pavlo), a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal recipient, was raised in a Lebanese-Egyptian (Makhoul) household just bursting with music and diversity. Growing up, he was fed a steady diet of delicious musicality alongside Middle Eastern cuisine and violin lessons. When he first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s (Jesse Cook) rumba rhythm, their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound – the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. Added to this rich foundation for the performance is in-the-pocket bass master Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk).
Sultans of String have been crisscrossing North America for the last several years at many taste-making forums such as the legendary jazz club Birdland in NYC, Boston’s Scullers, and California’s hip music scene, including the San Jose Jazz Festival. They recently sold out Koerner Hall (Toronto’s Carnegie Hall), and performed with Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Stratford and Niagara Symphony Orchestras, as well as Maine’s Kingsfield POPS and Maryland’s Annapolis Symphony. Sultans of String were filmed by MPBN’s Maine Arts, and performed live on BBC TV, BBC Radio, Irish National Radio, and the internationally syndicated shows WoodSongs, World Cafe, and on SiriusXM in Washington.
The Phillips Area Community Center is on 21 Depot Street in Phillips. Tickets are $15. Reservations are available at 207-562-4445 or www.necelticarts.com. Reservations are very strongly recommended for this performance.
They are performing with the original trio. Chris McKool, Kevin Laliberté, and Drew Briston. Phill Mc