CHAMPAIGN, IL – Popular blues artists Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ will perform together in concert at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign on Thursday, Aug 9, 2018, at 8:00 P.M. (doors open at 7:00 P.M.). Reserved seating tickets go on sale Friday, March 9, 2018, at 10:00 A.M. Tickets cost from $45 to $125 dollars, with VIP Packages also available, and will be sold at the Virginia Theatre Box Office, 203 West Park Avenue, Champaign, online at the.virginia.org, or charge by phone at 217/356-9063. This event is presented by Exceptional Artists, with the Champaign Park District. The Virginia Theatre’s 2017-2018 Season Sponsors are The News-Gazette, WILL—Illinois Public Media, and WCIA News Channel 3.
TAJMO: The Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ Band (released May 5, 2017, on Concord Records) marks a timely convergence of the talents of two unique American artists who’ve built iconoclastic individual legacies that have boldly expanded blues traditions into new territory.
The collaboration brings out the best in both artists, with the pair merging their distinctive voices, personalities, and guitar styles to create vibrant, immediate music that’s firmly rooted in tradition yet ruled by a playful sense of adventure. The album features guest appearances by Sheila E., Joe Walsh, Lizz Wright and Bonnie Raitt, who lends her voice to a distinctive cover of John Mayer’s anthemic Waiting on the World to Change.
Two-time GRAMMY AWARD-winner and nine-time GRAMMY-nominee Taj Mahal first made his mark in the late 1960s with a series of visionary country-blues albums, and in the decades since has continued to pursue his free-spirited muse with a long series of eclectic recording projects touching upon a wide array of genres and cultures.
Since arriving on the scene in the 1990s, four-time GRAMMY AWARD-winner and eleven-time GRAMMY nominee Keb’ Mo’ has built a powerful body of work that’s showcased his mastery of multiple blues styles as well as his sense of musical adventure, which has led him into all manner of projects.
The two artists have known each other for decades, and Taj has been a longstanding touchstone for Keb’, ever since he saw him perform at a high-school student assembly. Taj even played a role in Keb’ getting his first record deal. But TAJMO marks the first time that they’ve joined forces in the studio.
For more, visit https://tajmo.com/.
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