Franco-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, singer and songwriter Pierre Bensusan is thrilled to be touring North America again. At the beginning of 2020, he started his tour in the United States, but unfortunately an emerging pandemic interrupted this tour. He’s back for his 2022 tour, happy to finally be able to perform in front of audiences and fans. The artist is scheduled to perform at Eddie’s Attic, located at 515 N McDonough St, Decatur, GA 30030 on Sunday, March 13 at 6 p.m. EDT. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $22 and can be purchased online here or by calling 404-377-4976.
The first leg of this 100-date concert tour that includes guitar clinics began in late February with a sold-out private concert in Virginia and continues from March 3 through May. The gig stretches from NC, heads west through the southern states, goes all the way to the west coast, then back up to British Columbia. The second leg of the tour will resume from September to November, starting in WA, passing through the Northern States, the Dakotas, Manitoba, the Great Lakes, the Midwest, Ontario, New York, Quebec, New -England, the East Coast. , and back to NC. A full tour itinerary with ticket ordering links can be found here.
ABOUT PIERRE BENSUSAN:
It’s as if the guitar had carte blanche to play on its own! Franco-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, singer and composer Pierre Bensusan, nicknamed “Mr. DADGAD”, has taken his unique sound to the four corners of the globe. Winner of the Independent Music Awards for his triple live album “Encore”, voted best guitarist in world music by the readers’ poll of Guitar Player Magazine, and winner of the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his first album, Pierre is recognized as one of the greatest guitarists of the 21st century.
Born in Oran, French Algeria, in 1957, as France was decolonizing its Empire, Pierre Bensusan’s family moved to Paris when he was 4 years old. He began formal piano studies at the age of 7 and at 11 taught himself the guitar. Influenced in his early days by the folk revival that was flourishing in Britain, France and North America, Bensusan first began to explore his own diverse musical heritage, then moved on to other horizons. He signed his first recording contract at the age of 17 and a year later his first album, “Près de Paris” won the Grand Prix du Disque on its debut at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland.
Described by the LA Times as “one of the most unique and brilliant acoustic guitar veterans on today’s global music scene”, Pierre’s name has become synonymous with contemporary acoustic guitar genius, long before the New Age or World Music terms are invented. He literally created a playing style with the ability to make a single guitar sound like an entire band while taking the audience on a mesmerizing musical journey. And yet, Bensusan is more than any musician or music lover expects from a guitarist. He is both a bilingual and original composer and vocalist and improviser, with his own scat technique.
Immortalized by the tribute tune ‘Bensusan’ written by the late Michael Hedges, and referenced as an important source of inspiration for many other great musicians, Pierre Bensusan is a one-of-a-kind artist whose music transcends genres and genres. eras, with an uninhibited style sense of musical freedom and expression, a sense of something both playful and serious, out of this world but right here; at present. His “way” of playing defies classification – crossing the world, classical, jazz, traditional, folk, pop and more. None can be isolated as simply “World Music”, “Celtic”, “Arabic” or “French”; rather, they represent the authentic vocabulary of Pierre and the best part of our world in its current state, a world that is shared. Do not miss!
ABOUT “AZWAN” CD:
During a three-year hiatus from international touring, Pierre Bensusan had written exciting new tracks and honed his guitar playing for his new instrumental CD “Azwan” – released in 2020. Since its release, “Azwan” continues to garner rave reviews .
“I chose to work with a French producer, Jean-Marie Ecay, who happens to be one of the most requested electric guitarists on the French jazz scene (tours with Jean-Luc Ponty, Richard Galliano) so that I could take advantage of his ears, his experience and his suggestions to take the music in another direction.” said Peter.
Additionally, “Azwan” sheet music along with a selection of popular performance pieces, technical considerations and ideas have been published in a new book “The Pierre Bensusan Guitar Collection”, published worldwide by Hal Leonard (*except by “Fingerstyle China”: for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan).
Listen and learn much more about Pierre at: http://www.pierrebensusan.com