Italy's leading ensemble on the world music circuit, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino returns Stateside for a series of Fall concert dates. Running from September 29th through October 10th, stops along CGS's 2016 mini-tour include Midwest performances at the Madison World Music Festival, Legion Arts (Cedar Rapids, IA) and Minneapolis's Cedar Cultural Center. The band then heads East for a one-off club show at New York City's now legendary spot, (Le) Poisson Rouge, before wrapping up its latest US jaunt with multiple appearances at the Richmond Folk Festival.

In 2015 CGS celebrated its 40th anniversary with the release of "Quaranta" (40), which was cited in Best of the Year world music album round-ups by the likes of Huffington Post and PopMatters. Quaranta was produced by Ian Brennan, 2012 Grammy Award winner in the Best World Music category for Tinariwen's "Tassili" album, and features guests such as composer/pianist Ludovico Einaudi and singer-songwriter Piers Faccini.

A video for the song "Solo Andata" (One Way Ticket) received Amnesty International Italy's 2014 Arts and Human Rights Award. Set to text by author Erri de Luca, and directed by Alessandro Gassmann, the video tackles the ongoing issue of immigrants from North Africa to Italy's shores.

Lauded under the new leadership of Mauro Durante, the offspring of CGS's founding members, this second generation group has consistently garnered critical acclaim from the likes of The New York Times, NPR, The Guardian and the BBC. A whirlwind of touring on the international scene has included stops on prestigious stages including Womad (UK, Australia, New Zealand), Womex, SXSW and Sziget, as well as the Montreal Jazz and the Cambridge Folk Festivals.

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino is currently developing a Taranta-themed theatrical production with the team that brought the show Fela! to Broadway. Following a first workshop in Lecce, CGS leader Mauro Durante has been collaborating with Grammy-winning songwriters and producers in New York to complete this body of work which will also form part of the group's forthcoming 2017 new album release.

CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO (CGS) "Quaranta" (40) Fall 2016 US TOUR:

DATE CITY VENUE

September 29 Madison, WI Terrance at the Memorial Union - Madison World Music Festival
https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/canzoniere-grecanico-salentino

October 2 Cedar Rapids, IA CSPS Hall
http://legionarts.org

October 3 Minneapolis, MN The Cedar Cultural Center - Global Roots
http://www.thecedar.org/event/1191277-canzoniere-grecanico-salentino-minneapolis/

October 5 New York, NY (Le) Poisson Rouge
http://lpr.com/lpr_artists/canzoniere-grecanico-salentino/

October 7 - 9 Richmond, VA Richmond Folk Festival
http://www.richmondfolkfestival.org/docs/2016_performers/Canzoniere_grecanico.html

Taranta - Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (ft L. Einaudi) - Official Video:
https://youtu.be/4cG6pbwx_dw

Solo andata - Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino:
https://youtu.be/Tf-bH-aaLB4