The a Cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo is scheduled to release a new album, Long Walk to Freedom on Jan. 24, 2006 and will begin a U.S. tour Feb. 2 in support of the album. These projects acknowledge the group’s 20th year of international success and the 12th anniversary of democracy in their homeland South AfriCa.
Paul Simon is largely responsible for the band’s jump to mainstream recognition, as he featured the group in his 1986 album, Graceland. The exposure beCame a Catalyst for great coverage and the end of the apartheid system in South AfriCa
Long Walk to Freedom is a chronologiCal collection of their previously released songs, but features several contemporary AmeriCan and AfriCan pop artists including Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Natalie Merchant, Lucky Dube, Vusi Mahlasela and Thandwisa.
The tour dates for Ladysmith Black Mambazo are…
- Feb. 2, Brockwood School- Manchester, Mass.
- Feb. 3, Pickard Theatre- Brunswick, Maine
- Feb. 4, Troy Music Hall- Troy, N.Y.
- Feb. 5, Paramount Theater- Peekskill, N.Y.
- Feb. 7, Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center- Bethlehem, Penn.
- Feb. 9, Music Center at Strathmore- North Bethesda, Md.
- Feb. 10, Tilles Center for the Performing Arts- Greenvale, N.Y.
- Feb. 11, Sanders Theatre- Cambridge, Mass.
- Feb. 12, Colonial Theatre- Keene, N.H.
- Feb. 14, Maryland Hall for Creative Arts- Annapolis, Md.
- Feb. 15, Stockton Performing Arts Center- Pomona, N.J.
- Feb. 17, McCarter Theatre- Princeton, N.J.
- Feb. 18, New Jersey Performing Arts Center- Newark, N.J.
- Feb. 19, Verizon Hall- Philadelphia, Penn.
- Feb. 21, Kenan Auditorium- Wilmington, N.C.
- Feb. 22, Carolina Theatre- Durham, N.C.
- Feb. 23, Carolina Theatre- Durham, N.C.
- Feb. 25, Rialto Theatre- Atlanta, Ga.
- Feb. 28, Overture Center for the Arts- Madison, Wisc.
- March 1, Platteville Center for the Arts- Platteville, Wisc.
- March 4, Hancher Auditorium- Iowa City, Iowa
- March 6, Sacred Heart Music Center- Duluth, Minn.
- March 7, Reif Center- Grand Rapids, Mich.
- March 9, Page Theatre – Winona, Minn.
- March 10, Fairmont Opera House- Fairmont, Minn.
- March 11, Civic Music- Rochester, Minn.
- March 12, Historic Holmes Theatre- Detroit Lakes, Minn.
- March 15, Dimnent Chapel- Holland, Mich.
- March 17, Carson Four Rivers Center- Paducah, Ky.
- March 18, Sheldon Concert Hall- St. Louis, Mo.
- March 19, Second Presbyterian Church- Memphis, Tenn.
- March 22, Carriage House- Saratoga, Calif.
- March 23, Carriage House- Saratoga, Calif.
- March 24, Van Duzer Theatre- Arcata, Calif.
- March 25, John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts- Eugene, Oregon
- March 26, Ross Ragland Theater- Klamath Falls, Oregon
- March 28, Analy High School Theatre- Sebastopol, Calif.
- March 30, Zellerbach Auditorium- Berkeley, Calif.
- March 31, Zellerbach Auditorium- Berkeley, Calif.
- April 5, University Theatre- Riverside, Calif.
- April 6, Campbell Hall- Santa Barbara, Calif.
- April 7, Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium- Pasadena, Calif.
- April 8, Orange County Performing Arts Center- Costa Mesa, Calif.
- April 9, Orpheum Theatre- Flagstaff, Ariz.
- April 11, McFarlin Memorial Auditorium- Dallas, Texas
- April 12, Paramount Theatre- Austin, Texas
