Brazilian great Gilberto Gil plays solo in Ann Arbor

Mar 27, 2015 at 3:09 pm

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
            "component": "35519556",
            "insertPoint": "5th",
            "startingPoint": "3",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
            "maxInsertions": 100
          }
          
        ]

Next Saturday, April 4, Gilberto Gil will play solo at Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium.

I've never seen him perform, but I've been in love with his music ever since the record store Other Music launched a concerted effort in the mid 1990s to turn the world on to the music of the Brazilian Tropicália movement of the 1960s, to artists like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, Maria Bethânia, and of course Gilberto Gil.

It’s very difficult to overstate the importance of Gil to the cultural makeup of Brazil, and beyond, so why even try.

Gil’s voice, guitar playing and songs are impeccably beautiful, while etched with harsh truths.

In this rare solo outing next Saturday, the 1960s radical who was forced into political exile and later became the Minister of Culture will play a mixture of his own songs as well as those of bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto.

This is such a wonderful treat; seriously, we are so lucky to have this man playing here.

The show tarts at 8 p.m.; 825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor; 734-763-3333; tickets start at $26.

Tags:

About The Author

Mike McGonigal

Metro Times music editor Mike McGonigal has written about music since 1984, when he started the fanzine Chemical Imbalance at age sixteen with money saved from mowing lawns in Florida. He's since written for Spin, Pitchfork, the Village VOICE and Artforum. He's been a museum guard, a financial reporter, a bicycle...