Line-up

Headliner
Art Garfunkel Last time in Manchester: 7 years ago

Venue

Opera House

Quay St, M3 3HP, Manchester, UK

www.manchesteroperahouse.org.uk/

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Additional details

Doors open: 19:00

Concert in your area for Rock, Indie & Alt, and Folk & Blues.

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Art Garfunkel biography

Arthur Ira “Art” Garfunkel is a Grammy Award winning American folk rock and soft rock singer from Queens, New York.

Born on 5 November 1941 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, and had a love for singing at a very young age. When he was in sixth grade he was cast in the school play production of “Alice In Wonderland” and met his future singing partner Paul Simon. In 1963 Simon and Garfunkel reformed after taking a break to attend separate colleges, and released their first album entitled “Wednesday Morning, 3A.M” through Columbia records in 1964. Unfortunately the album didn’t fare well resulting in their parting ways once again; that is, until producer Tom Wilson lifted the single “The Sound of Silence” and dubbed an electric backing to it and re-released it, launching to number one on the Billboard Charts.Together again, the duo went on to record four more albums, “Sounds of Silence,” “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme,” “Bookends” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

During a three-year hiatus starting in 1970 Garfunkel spent time as an actor and as a math teacher. He spent the better part of the 70s on and off working with Simon, releasing a Greatest Hits album in 1972. In 1978 Garfunkel released his album “Watermark” an “Fate for Breakfast” in 1979. Unfortunately his album “Scissor Cuts” didn’t fare well and an unfortunate personal problem, he left the music scene in 1985.

His retirement from music lasted until 1988 when he released “Lefty” and in 1990 Simon and Garfunkel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2003 Garfunkel made his songwriting debut on his “Everything Wants To Be Noticed” album. Then in 2006 he signed with Rhino Records and continued to tour both as a solo artist and along with Simon.

Live reviews

Art Garfunkel I was lucky enough to see him in 2009, the venue was small but had an intimate feeling. Lets face it, this was never going to be a gig for a mosh pit.
The stage, rather than running across the front of the venue, it was in the shape of a semi circle that allowed the audience to be seated in an arc around Art and the rest of the band, which was conservatively made up of a small number of musicians.
With a catalogue of songs as large as his (and Paul Simons) it was hard to know where he’d begin. But he began with All I Know, a soft, beautiful song and one of his most famous. He went on to play a mixture of his own tracks and classics made famous by Simon & Garfunkel such as The Boxer, El Conor Pasa, Kathy’s Song, Sound of Silence before finishing with Bridge Over Trouble Water.
Throughout he constantly told stories from his past, giving the audience an insight into what inspired the songs. Many of the stories sent the audience into fits of laughter and the performance of each song were meet with a wholehearted applause. I have been listening to Art Garfunkel since I was a child. My mother was a huge fan and I spent much time immersed, whether I wanted to be or not. It wasn't until I was an adult that I fully appreciated his and Paul Simons songwriting genius. The lyrics are profound, raw, honest and beautiful. The songs are like stories, stories that you can get sucked into and lost in. Art voice is remarkable, a voice that stops you in your tracks, beautiful, soulful and in many ways haunting.
It was a wonderfully entertaining and interesting evening by a legendary figure in music. Don't miss this opportunity to see one of the greats.

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