SHAKTI: The 50th Anniversary Tour

By February 10, 2023 March 28th, 2023 2023

Saturday September 16, 2023 at 8:00 pm CST

at Riverbend Center for the Arts, 4214 N Capital of Texas Hwy, Austin, TX 78746 Directions

         JOHN MCLAUGHLIN on lead guitar

         ZAKIR HUSSAIN on tabla

         SHANKAR MAHADEVAN vocal

         GANESH on violin

         SELVAGANESH ghatam percussion

… special appearance by Bluegrass legend BELA FLECK

TICKETS GO ON SALE MID-APRIL!

TICKET SALES OPENING MID-APRIL

Ticket prices range from $35 to $500 and are all assigned bench seats. Handicap seating is available.

 

Discounted 2024 Membership with Shakti Ticket Purchase

If you buy a Shakti ticket for $100 or higher, you are eligible for a discount on ICMCA’s 2024 Annual Membership fee. This package lets you enjoy six outstanding concerts next year at a substantial saving!

Please select your seats first and click “Yes” when prompted for Membership. ICMCA will email you a special coupon code and instructions that you can use to purchase discounted 2024 membership.

  • 25% discount on membership for $100 or $150 ticket

  • 50% discount on membership for any $250 ticket

  • FREE 2024 Membership for a $500 ticket

Sponsorship Packages for BusinessesSponsorship Packages for Businesses

TITLE SPONSOR $500 Level includes 2 center seats located in the $150 zone + free ICMCA 2024 Family membership + your logo displayed on ICMCA website and pre-show presentation

GOLD SPONSOR $750 Level includes 2 center seats located in the $250 zone + free ICMCA 2024 Family membership + your logo displayed on ICMCA website and pre-show presentation

DIAMOND SPONSOR $1500 Level includes 2 center seats located in the $500 zone + ICMCA 2024 Family membership + your logo displayed on ICMCA website and pre-show presentation and a chance to join the artists in an exclusive sponsor-only dinner

SHAKTI: 50TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

An unprecedented, transcontinental collaboration, Shakti united eastern and western musicians, and in the process forged the template for what is now called “world music.”

From the West came virtuoso British guitarist JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, who re-wired jazz via his work with Miles Davis and the Tony Williams Lifetime.

From the East came visionary tabla player ZAKIR HUSSAIN, who had accompanied legendary Hindustani musicians from adolescence.

A music shop owner in New York City’s Greenwich Village connected the two in 1969, sowing the seeds of what was to become Shakti. “There wasn’t a first meeting,” Hussain recalls today. “It felt like a reunion of long-lost brothers…”

In 1973, McLaughlin stunned the music industry by walking away from the Olympian popularity and acclaim of his pioneering jazz/rock ensemble, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Something else was calling out to him—a music that reflected his evolving spiritual practice while feeding his insatiable hunger to converse, communicate, and explore.

With Hussain, violinist Shankar, and ghatam player T.H. “Vikku” Vinayakram, McLaughlin founded Shakti. “For me,” McLaughlin reflects, “it was an imperative that Shakti become my permanent group after the Mahavishnu Orchestra.” Together they honed an ecstatic new fusion, blazing uncharted pathways and demonstrating the potential of such global composites to generations of musicians around the world.

Now McLaughlin and Hussain are preparing to resume their journey—joined by the brilliant vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, percussionist V. Selvaganesh (T.H. Vinayakram’s son), and violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan—for an album of new compositions and a world tour marking Shakti’s 50th anniversary.

Today’s Shakti honors the legacy of the original band by acknowledging their tradition while continuing to push beyond existing boundaries into new musical landscapes. “It’s really a thrill,” McLaughlin says of Shakti’s 50th anniversary plans. “I’m delighted to be part of this marvelous tradition of the Shakti group.”