Five-piece improvisatory group, QWANQWA is making their debut in North America this fall; travelling on their first tour in the U.S. in over 20 states. Their performance locations feature a variety of memorable places, including Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, Flushing Town of Hall in Queens, Beacon’s Howland Cultural Center, Saratoga’s Caffe Lena, Buffalo’s Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Centre, and more.
QWANQWA, based in Ethiopia’s capital and largest city, Addis Ababa, are dedicated to furthering the country’s unique musical tradition rooted in string – classical music blended with new styles influenced by new compositions. Having recruited some of the most prominent names in the country’s music scene, they’ve created room for exploration of new sounds while implementing traditional and region-based beats and moods.
QWANQWA’s released works include three critically-acclaimed albums, Volume One (2014) and Volume Two (2015); and Volume Three (2020). The group has performed at two major European tours with knockout shows at the Roskilde and WOMEX festivals in 2016 and 2017 and members of QWANQWA have performed with some of the biggest names in Ethiopian music and beyond: Getachew Mekuria, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, The EX, Thurston Moore, Fred Frith, Butch Morris, and more.
QWANQWA 2022 U.S. Tour Dates
8/28 Brooklyn NY– Bindlestiff Flatbed Follies
9/1 Washington, DC – Bossa Bistro & Lounge
9/3 Waynesville NC — FOLKMOOT
9/4 Black Mountain, NC — White Horse
9/8 Durham, NC — Motorco Music Hall
9/9 – 9/10 Greensboro, NC — NC Folk Festival
9/12 Atlanta, GA — The 529
9/15 Champaign Urbana, IL — Spurlock Museum of World Cultures
9/17 Boston, MA — Boston University Global Music Fest
9/18 Cedar Rapids, IA — Legion Arts
9/24 Chicago, IL — Hyde Park Jazz Festival
9/25 Milwaukee, WI — University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Recital Hall
9/26 Minneapolis, MN — Cedar Center (Global Roots Festival)
9/28 Boulder, CO — Dairy Arts Center
10/1 Ivins, UT — Kayenta Center For The Arts
10/2 Springdale, UT — Z-Arts
10/3 Las Vegas, NV — Sahara West Library
10/4 Las Vegas, NV — Whitney Library
10/5 Las Vegas, NV — Winchester Cultural Center
10/7 West Hollywood, CA – Petit Ermitage
10/8 Topanga, CA — Corazon Center for Arts
10/13 Santa Cruz, CA — Kuumbwa Jazz Center
10/14 Berkeley, CA — Freight & Salvage
10/15 Healdsburg, CA — Little Saint
10/16 Mount Shasta, CA – Jefferson Center
10/17 Eugene, OR — WOW Hall
10/18 Portland, OR — Mississippi Studios
10/21 Seattle, WA — Town Hall
10/22 Boise, ID — The Olympic
10/27 Rochester, NY — Eastman School of Music Presents
10/29 Flushing, Queens, NY — Flushing Town Hall
11/1: Bar Harbor, ME – College of the Atlantic
11/2: Brooksville, ME – Tinder Hearth
11/2 Belfast, ME — Colonial Theatre
11/3 Portland, ME — Space Gallery
11/4 Keene, NH — Nova Arts Fiddle Madness
11/5 Beacon, NY — Howland Cultural Center
11/6 Saratoga Springs, NY — Caffe Lena
11/8 Buffalo, NY – Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Cente
11/9 Pittsburgh, PA — City of Asylum
11/10 Elkins, WV — The Old Brick Playhouse
11/11 – 11/12 Marlinton, WV — Pocahontas County Opera House
11/13 Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall
11/14 Washington DC – Hill Center
11/15 Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
11/16 New Haven, CT — Café 9
11/17 Hartford, CT — Real Art Ways
11/18 Putney, VT — Next Arts
11/19 Amherst, MA — The Drake
