Oct. 1, 2008
MUSIC LEGEND VAN MORRISON TO CLOSE OUT HOLLYWOOD BOWL 2008 SEASON WITH "ASTRAL WEEKS LIVE" IN NOVEMBER
Hollywood, CA. - Multi-award winning musical legend Van Morrison will take to the Los Angeles concert stage for "Astral Weeks Live" at the Hollywood Bowl on November 7 and 8, closing out the 2008 season of the famous venue. Van Morrison has over 150 songs featured in major motion pictures--with the latest being featured in the Scorsese film "The Departed". Tickets for the concerts go on sale 10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, with Citi pre-sales beginning 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1 through 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.
"This is a welcomed opportunity for me to perform these songs the way I originally intended them to be," says Morrison. "It's about the world of creation and of the imagination: That is what a song is, a little movie with melodies and music built around it, poetry in moving pictures in the mind... In the 60's and 70's the record companies did not support the music, so I never got to take these songs on tour, and I certainly did not have the money to do it. These songs are as timeless and fresh right now as the day they were written and I am happy about taking them to the Hollywood Bowl."
"Astral Weeks" is timeless music from the soul. It is ranked the #2 greatest album of all time in the Mojo list, and it ranks #19 in Rolling Stone. Britain's The Times lists it #3 in its all-time rankings. Morrison has said the album was "a little about Belfast, but it has never been about any person or thing as these works are channeled works of the imagination.. the keyword being work.. it was a lot of hard work"
The November concerts will be recorded live for the upcoming album "Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl." This album will be released on Morrison's new label, Listen To The Lion Records.
For the concerts, Morrison will be joined by a band that includes world-class musicians including band-leader / pianist Roger Kellaway (former band leader of Bobby Darrin) and guitarist John Platania who has played with Morrison since 1970.