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Legendary music icon Leonard Cohen hits the road Story by Brian S. Publicity photos |
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Cohen's first tour of the States in 15 years
When most people in America think of Canadian musicians their minds wander to singers like Bryan Adams and pop ballads like "Everything I Do I Do It For You" or heavy rockers like Nickelback with guitar drowned hits like "How You Remind Me," but around much of the world, especially in the UK, Leonard Cohen is the name that comes to mind. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, admired by legends like Lou Reed, and given the Companion of the Order of Canada (the highest honor possible in Canada), but a whole generation in the United States has gone on without realizing that this baritone singer and transcendent song writer has had a profound effect on the music they listen to. Now they will get a chance to listen to the acclaimed folk rocker as he returns to the United States to tour for the first time in 15 years. Cohen skipped the United States in 2008 while he went on his critically acclaimed world tour, but this spring he will begin his North American tour in the hipster musician's paradise, Austin, on April 2. From there he will play 27 more shows, with 15 more of them landing south of the Canadian border, including a stop at the Coachella Music Festival This acclaimed musician managed to pop up every once in a while, reminding fans that he was still around, but this tour should make a lasting impression. Leonard Cohen not releasing any new material, but touring singing his old standbys, songs like "Bird on the Wire," "Suzanne," "First We Take Manhattan," "I'm Your Man," and "Famous Blue Raincoat." Perhaps people will realize that he wrote and first performed "Hallelujah," not Jeff Buckley. Perhaps people will begin to appreciate him outside of the music industry. He has been covered by artists like Bono, Billy Joel and R.E.M. in two tribute albums. This recent resurgence follows his induction into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in December in 2008. At the ceremony he was honored as being among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters." |
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