George Dalaras kicks off his North American Tour at the Famed Apollo Theater in NY

George Dalaras begins a series of concert performances at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY on Friday, January 31^th 2020.  He will share the stage in this tour with Michalis Tzouganakis, Aspasia Stratigou and Alexandros Tzouganakis. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Greek charitable organization “The Ark of the World” (“Κιβωτός του Κόσμου”). The series is produced by Globe Entertainment based in NY.

George Dalaras, apart from his sensational career as a singer, is also a musician. In this series of performances, along with singing the songs we all love and know, he will highlight his lifelong love of the guitar and other popular instruments. Together with six soloist musicians, he will performs his favorite songs, his greatest hits, and some other less known, hidden gems.

As mentioned above, Michalis Tzouganakis, a composer-soloist in lute and singer, will join him on stage. George Dalaras and Michalis Tzouganakis are connected with a long and constructive cooperation in Greece and Europe and a deep friendship. Joining them is the exceptional Aspasia Stratigou and the very young Alexandros Tzouganakis, Michalis’ son, who continues the tradition.

Aspasia Stratigou

This concert series promises to be original and authentic, enriched with love, nostalgia and of course many surprises. Like in all Dalaras performances, the idea is to bridge the gap between the artist and the audience so that everybody becomes a participant through a breathtaking experience.

“George Dalaras sings in Greek, yet his music, springing from the heart, has a universal appeal,” stated the French daily Le Figaro in 1993, long after the reputation of this great Greek musician had reached across the boarders of his native land. Throughout his triumphant tours in Europe, the United States, Canada and every other corner of the world, George Dalaras stayed in close touch with his roots even when embracing other world music cultures.

Born in Piraeus, the main port of Athens, George comes from a tradition of folk and blues music. His father was a bouzouki instrumentalist and his first musical influences come from the main forms of Greek music: the laika (popular), the rebetika (a kind of blues) and the paradosiaka (traditional).

Alexandros Tzouganakis

At the age of 16 he made his first public appearance as guitarist and singer.  During his long career that spans decades, he was the first artist to take Greek music out of the conventional club environment and perform concerts in large venues. When two years later, he recorded his first album, the authentic sound of Greek urban music (based essentially on the bouzouki), enriched by the young artist’s innovative contemporary approach, he won instant critical and popular acclaim. In all, he has released some 95 personal albums and has collaborated in more than 90 others as musician or producer, always expanding his musical horizons with his multi–faceted creativity.

During his career, George Dalaras has worked with the most important Greek composers, including Stavros Kouyioumtzis, Manos Loizos, Apostolos Kaldaras, Christos Nikolopoulos, Yannis Markopoulos, Stavros Xarchakos, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Eleni Karaindrou and lyricists such as Lefteris Papadopoulos, Manos Elefteriou, Nikos Gatsos, Kostas Tripolitis and others.

Since 1981, he has performed in over 500 concerts outside Greece, promoting, Greek music abroad. He has performed at some of the most famous concert halls, such as the Palais des Gongres and the Olympia Theatre in Paris, the Albert and Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, the London’s Wembley Arena (backed by Melina Merkouri and Vanessa Redgrave), the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv, the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, St. George’s Hall the Kremlin Palace and others. In 1994 he performed at the Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey before an audience of 22,000. In this concert, he received the Kennedy Award from Senator Edward Kennedy in recognition of his humanitarian contribution.

He has also appeared at numerous cultural festivals, including Cuba (1981,1998), the Europalia Festival in Brussels (1982), the Peace Festival in Vienna (1983), the Youth Festival in Moscow (1985), the Aid to Africa Concert in the Stadium of Peace and Friendship in Athens (1986), the unforgettable Amnesty International Concert in Athens with Peter Gabriel, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman and Youssou’n’Dour (1988), the Poznan Jazz Festival in Poland (1999), the Crossing Border Festival in Amsterdam (2001), the Saratoga Festival in USA, with the famous Philharmonic Orchestra of Philadelphia directed by Charles Dutoit (2001).