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  • WDCH
  • LA PHIL LAUNCHES 2013 DECK THE HALL HOLIDAY CONCERTS AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL with THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA AND SPECIAL GUEST SAM AMIDON
  • Nov. 19, 2013
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    Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at 8:00 PM

    WHAT:        Go Tell It On the Mountain: The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at 8:00 PM.  The five-time Grammy-winning gospel legends and Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductees bring their inspirational renditions of Christmas music both familiar (“White Christmas” and “Silent Night”) and lesser-known (“When Was Jesus Born?” and “I Pray on Christmas”), as well as gospel classics such as “Amazing Grace.” The Los Angeles Times heralded their debut Deck the Hall performance as “a heavenly Christmas gift.” 

    The Blind Boys of Alabama are currently on tour in support of their latest album, I’ll Find a Way, produced by Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver). A unique collaboration between one of popular music’s longest-running acts and one of its fastest-rising stars, it is a powerful collection of spiritual and gospel songs new and old, featuring some of the Blind Boys’ most fervent vocals as well as contributions by a new generation of their fans - Sam Amidon, Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, Casey Dienel of White Hinterland, Patty Griffin, and Justin Vernon himself.  Special guest Sam Amidon will be joining The Blind Boys for their performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall in selections from I’ll Find a Way.

    Go Tell It On the Mountain: The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show was inspired by the group's 2003 Grammy-winning album. That soulful Christmas album features guest appearances by Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, Chrissie Hynde, Solomon Burke, George Clinton, Aaron Neville and others. Upon its release, Go Tell It On the Mountain became an immediate Christmas classic and then a PBS Christmas special and a concert DVD featuring many of the guests on the album. In the true spirit of the Christmas season, the album, broadcasts and DVD sales have afforded The Blind Boys of Alabama an opportunity to give something to others in need: a portion of the proceeds are donated to the American Diabetes Association, for whom they became spokesmen in 2003.

    Formed in the late 1930s at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in Talladega, The Blind Boys of Alabama have harmonized throughout the turbulent twentieth century and well into the twenty-first: from Jim Crow through Civil Rights and into the Obama era. They have, however, enjoyed some of their biggest and most rousing successes in the last dozen years, during which time they’ve won five Grammys, four Gospel Music Awards, and multiple invitations to sing at the White House.

    Born and raised in Brattleboro, Vermont, multi-instrumentalist Sam Amidon recently released his latest albumBright Sunny South, the follow-up to 2010’s critically acclaimed I See the Sign, which earned Amidon praise from SPIN, noting his “quirky alchemy…contrasting pretty sounds with violent lyrical undercurrents” andPitchfork, which said, “[Amidon’s] interpretations are so singular that it stops mattering how (or if) they existed before.” In addition to his solo albums, Amidon has collaborated with Nico Muhly, Beth Orton, and Bill Frisell, and previously toured as a member of the bands Doveman and Stars Like Fleas.

    For more information and complete artist biographies, please visit:

    www.laphil.com

    WHO:         
    The Blind Boys of Alabama
    Sam Amidon, special guest

    WHEN:       Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 8:00 PM

    WHERE:      WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
    111 S. Grand Avenue
    Los Angeles, CA  90012

    TICKETS:    Tickets for the 2013/14 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall are currently on sale and can be purchased online at LAPhil.com, in person at Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000. Tickets can also be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets.

    DECK THE HALL HOLIDAY CONCERTS AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL:
    The 2013 Deck the Hall series channels the festive spirit with classic holiday programming, iconic pop artists and holiday music from across the globe. The complete series at Walt Disney Concert Hall is as follows:

    -  Go Tell It On the Mountain:  The Blind Boys of Alabama (Tuesday, December 10, at 8:00 PM)

    -  The Nutcracker with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil (Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 12, 13 and 14, at 8:00 PM; and Sunday, December 15, at 2:00 PM)

    -  A Judy Collins Christmas (Tuesday, December 17, at 8:00 PM)

    -  Holiday Organ Spectacular (Wednesday, December 18, at 8:00 PM)

    -  A Chanticleer Christmas (Friday, December 20, at 8:00 PM)

    -  Holiday Sing-Along (Saturday, December 21, at 11:30 AM & 2:30 PM)

    -  A Swingin’ Christmas with The Count Basie Orchestra (Monday, December 23, at 8:00 PM)

    -  New Year’s Eve with Sergio Mendes and Sheila E. (Tuesday, December 31, at 7:00 PM & 10:30 PM)

     

     

     

  • Contact:

     

    For more information on The Nutcracker with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil, please contact:
    Lisa Bellamore, 213.972.3689, lbellamore@laphil.org

     

    For New Year’s Eve with Sergio Mendes and Sheila E. please contact:
    Lillian Matchett, 213.972.3406, lmatchett@laphil.org

     

    For all other Deck the Hall holiday concerts, please contact:
    Laura Cohen, 310.867.3897, lcmediapr@gmail.com