FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018 | 7:30 PM
JOSEPH M. BRYAN, JR., THEATER IN THE MUSEUM PARK

DOORS OPEN AT 6:00 PM

How often does a classical violinist win accolades for also sounding “synthtastic?” Seattle-born Kaoru Ishibashi ranks among the few. After studying film scoring at Berklee College of Music, he toured with Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and Deerhoof. His work with Of Montreal band founder Kevin Barnes pushed Ishibashi to direct his classical training in less conventional directions. Soon, he was layering Caribbean beatboxing and electronic looping with classical string arrangements. NPR’s Bob Boilen discovered him at SXSW and calls him his personal favorite musician; NPR Music named him 2012 “Best New Artist of the Year.” Ishibashi tours as a five-piece band under the pseudonym Kishi Bashi. Accompanying Ishibashi’s lustrous violin are percussion, electric guitar, keyboards, and Mike Savino’s electric, color-changing disco “banjotron.” The result is an unforgettable live show that flows from rollicking indie anthems to hushed acoustic numbers.

The New York Times says Kishi Bashi will “inspire awe in even the most ambivalent.”

Heralded as the best living ukulele player in the world, Jake Shimabukuro says, “The ukulele, with its humble four strings and modest two-octave range, is an instrument limited only by the imagination and creativity of the person playing it.” Having inherited his passion for the instrument from his mother in Hawaii, Shimabukuro immersed himself in local tradition, also mastering drums, piano, and guitar. He had planned to teach secondary school until a performance video of him prompted critics to gush things like, “Asian guy shreds on ukulele.” He never dreamed that his musical first love would earn him recording deals with Epic Records and many years of world tours. Since 2001 Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Béla Fleck, and others have pursued collaborations with Shimabukuro, and Eddie Vedder honors him for reinspiring his own ukulele projects. Shimabukuro flies from Hawaii to North Carolina to perform an extraordinary double bill with Kishi Bashi for the NCMA audience.

Learn more by watching the PBS documentary Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings.