Three-time Juno (Canada’s Grammy) nominees and Billboard charting, Sultans of String are coming to Miami to perform at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211 St. in Cutler Bay, on Feb 1.
They have been thrilling audiences with the group’s genre-hopping passport of Celtic reels, Flamenco, Gypsy-jazz, Arabic and Cuban rhythms, fiery violin dances with kinetic guitar, while funky bass lays down unstoppable grooves. Throughout, acoustic strings meet electronic wizardry to create layers and depth of sound.
Since forming 10 years ago, Sultans of String’s music has hit No. 6 on Billboard’s world music charts, No. 1 across Canada on Top 10 national radio charts, landed the New York Times’ Christmas Hits list, and received multiple awards and accolades, including first place in the ISC (out of 15,000 entries), three Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (for bandleader Chris McKhool). They also have performed/recorded with such luminaries as The Chieftains, Sweet Honey in The Rock, and Ruben Blades.
McKhool (ancestral name Makhoul) has an Egyptian-born mother who happened to play piano, teach classical theory, and feed her young son as much Middle Eastern cuisine as she did music lessons. From there, the powerful violinist developed a taste for multi-genre string sounds and found a like-minded crew of all-world enthusiasts.
When McKhool first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s (Jesse Cook) rumba rhythm, their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound — the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. From this rich foundation, the dynamic duo grew, featuring such amazing musical friends as in-the-pocket bass master Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk).
Sultans of String have been criss-crossing North America and UK for the past several years at many taste-making forums such as NYC’s legendary jazz club Birdland, Boston’s Scullers, and London’s Trafalgar Square. They recently sold out Koerner Hall (Toronto’s Carnegie Hall), and performed with Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Stratford, Ontario and Niagara Symphony orchestras, as well with Kingsfield POPS in Maine and Maryland’s acclaimed Annapolis Symphony.
Sultans of String also have been featured on MPBN’s Maine Arts!, and performed live on BBC-TV, BBC-Radio, Irish National Radio, and the internationally syndicated shows WoodSongs, World Cafe, and on SiriusXM in Washington.
For more information visit: www.sultansofstring.com, or www.facebook.com/sultansofstring.
