Friday Nights at the Getty: Vashti Bunyan (performance)
Date: Friday, September 8, 2006 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium Admission: Free; reservations required.
She quit making music—twice—and devoted herself to family and a life of "lookaftering." But in 2000, when her much-sought-after 1970s album, the melodic, highly personal Just Another Diamond Day, was rereleased, Vashti Bunyan picked up her guitar again and found that new songs were there, ready to flow. Her new album, Lookaftering, combines the melodiousness of pop with the beauty and simplicity of folk.
Insightful, intelligent, idiosyncratic—"The person I bring to the shows is the person I am," she says—Banyan makes powerfully contemporary music, bringing a spare poetic touch to emotionally complex, beautiful ballads about looking back on a life and trying to make sense of it all. Her pristine vocals shine against rich instrumentation on acoustic guitar, bass, piano, flute, kalimba, and concertina.
Music Sample
Hear an excerpt from "Here Before" from Vashti Bunyan's CD Lookaftering (2005, Dicristina Stair Builders).
About Friday Nights at the Getty Friday Nights at the Getty is a free, contemporary performance series featuring an eclectic mix of music, dance, theater, and spoken word events.
Coming Up...
October 6 and 7: Distributed Memory: Live Music and Projected Images A two-part program of projected images and live music woven from found materials—field recordings, film noir clips, cable newscasts, and more. Tickets $5; call (310) 440-7300.
October 13: The 88 This unsigned Los Angeles-based quintet, named Best Rock/Pop Outfit in the city by L.A. Weekly, performs songs from their sophomore release and their acclaimed debut. Learn more...
November 3: Dave Alvin Dave Alvin shares his eclectic blend of blues, country, rock and roll, pop, folk, and R&B. His hybrid style is inspired by the "anything-goes openness" of California. Learn more...
November 10: Petra Haden Petra Haden & The Sell Outs recreate her recent technical tour de force CD release, Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out, a reimagined a cappella version of the classic Who record. Learn more...
