For the love of Venezuela, Devendra Banhart latest new song and upcoming tour
Devendra Banhart releases the second song from his forthcoming album Ma, "Abre Las Manos" - which translates to "Open Your Hands" - today. The album will be released on September 13 on Nonesuch Records. Like many of the songs on Ma, "Abre Las Manos," which is sung in Spanish (English translation below), was inspired by Banhart's relationship with his motherland, Venezuela. Today's release is accompanied by a visual slideshow of amateur photographs taken from Flickr of Caracas and El Avila National Park in Venezuela that were licensed through Creative Commons.
"Banhart's chief talent has always been to write endearing songs." - Q Magazine
"My brother is in Venezuela, my cousins, my aunts and uncles. They are just holding their breath, in gridlock standstill. Maybe there is more Spanish writing on Ma because of the helplessness I'm feeling, it's on my mind more than ever. I was thinking about the sorrow of having to put a child up for adoption, loving that child but not being with them, for whatever reason. That child is out in the world and you have to love them from afar. And that is exactly how I have felt observing the situation in Venezuela," Banhart says. "There's this helplessness, this place that has been a mother to you, that you're a mother to as well, and it's suffering so much. There is nothing you can do but send out love and remain in that sorrowful state."
For his autumn tour in support of Ma, he's partnering with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold in the U.S. will go to World Central Kitchen (WCK), an organization founded by Nobel Peace Prize-nominated chef José Andrés to fight hunger around the world. WCK is currently responding to the crisis on the Colombia-Venezuelan border and has served more than 350,000 meals to date. Banhart recently announced a twenty-three city North American tour for autumn 2019, beginning October 15 in Ventura, CA. This will be his first tour of North America since 2017. Tickets can be found here.
Devendra Banhart North American Tour Dates:
09/27/19 - Dana Point, CA @ OHANA Festival
10/15/19 - Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater
10/16/19 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
10/18/19 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/19/19 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
10/20/19 - Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall ^
10/22/19 - Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
10/24/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel
10/25/19 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Yost Theater
10/26/19 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/27/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/30/19 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater *
11/01/19 - Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown *
11/02/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater *
11/03/19 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
11/05/19 - Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone *
11/07/19 - Austin, TX @ Stubbs (Levitation)
11/23/18 - Leon, Guanajuato Mx @ Tecate Bajio Festival
11/30/19 - Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art *
12/01/19 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
12/03/19 - Montreal, QC @ The Olympia *
12/04/19 - Boston, MA @ The Wilbur *
12/05/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
12/07/19 - Washington, D.C. @ 930 Club *
12/08/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
* w/ Black Belt Eagle Scout
^ w/ Daniel Higgs
