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Sultans of String set for First Presbyterian Church performance / The Lincoln Journal Star

Posted: April 7, 2023

3x JUNO nominees and SiriusXM winners Sultans of String create "Energetic and exciting music from a band with talent to burn!" (Maverick Magazine UK). Thrilling their audiences with their genre-hopping passport of Celtic reels, flamenco, Gypsy-jazz, Arabic, Cuban, and South Asian rhythms, Sultans of String celebrate musical fusion and human creativity with warmth and virtuosity. Fiery violin dances with rumba-flamenco guitar, while bass and percussion lay down unstoppable grooves. Acoustic strings meet with electronic wizardry to create layers and depth of sound, while world rhythms excite audiences to their feet with the irresistible need to dance.

Since forming 10 years ago, Sultans of String's CDs have hit #1 across Canada on Top Ten national radio charts, and have received multiple awards and accolades, including 3 JUNO (Canada's Grammy) nominations, 1st place in the ISC (out of 15,000 entries), 3 Canadian Folk Music Awards, plus special guest recordings and sharing the stage with artists such as Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains, Richard Bona, Benoit Bourque (Bottine Souriante), Nikki Yanofsky, Alex Cuba, Ruben Blades, Crystal Shawanda, and Ken Whiteley.


Sultans of String will perform April 15 at First Presbyterian Church. From left are Drew Birston, Chris McKhool and Kevin Laliberte.

Lincoln Journal Star writes…..The Arts for the Soul music and fine arts series will bring the Sultans of String refuge project to First Presbyterian Church, 840 S. 17 St., at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15.

This concert will celebrate the positive contributions of refugees and new immigrants to the U.S. and Canada.

This Canadian group has won multiple awards, including three nominations for a Juno award (the Canadian Grammy).

Sultans of String consists of Chris McKhool, violin; Kevin Laliberte, guitar; and Drew Birston, bass. Also included in this special refuge concert are two World Music guest artists: Saskia Tomkins and Majd Sukar.

Sultans of String performs a genre-hopping passport of Celtic reels, flamenco, Django-jazz, Arabic, Cuban and South Asian rhythms. The band celebrates musical fusion and human creativity with warmth and virtuosity.

Since releasing their debut album Luna in 2007, Sultans of String members have continually strived to make each chart-topping album more original and meaningful than the last. That includes working with an orchestra (2013's Symphony), teaming with Pakistani sitarist Anwar Khurshid (2015's Subcontinental Drift) and even crafting a world music holiday album (2017's Christmas Caravan), which landed the group on the Billboard and New York Times charts.


The band's ambition and work ethic have garnered multiple awards and accolades, including three JUNO nominations, first place in the International Songwriting Competition (out of 15,000 entries), three Canadian Folk Music Awards and countless other honors, plus a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal (for bandleader Chris McKhool).

Sultans of String's 2020 release "Refuge" garnered many awards, including two Independent Music Awards for Instrumental Song of the Year and World Music Producer of the Year, two songwriting awards from Folk Music Ontario, as well as the 2021 CFMA for Producer of the Year for Chris McKhool and John Bailey.

Concert ticket prices are: adults, $20; seniors (62 and over), $15; students, $5; and children 12 and under, free.

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