Rufus Wainwright performs at the Bardavon Opera House
Eric M. Townsend

Rufus Wainwright playing Park Avenue Armory w/ Martha (Blackoutsabbath 2010 - tix on sale) & other dates

Rufus Wainwright in Poughkeepsie – Feb. 12th (more by Eric Townsend)
Rufus Wainwright

Blackoutsabbath is a concept created by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, as promoted by the organization Blackout Sabbath. In an attempt to become more environmentally conscious, participants are asked to live “off the grid” as much as possible on a designated date by unplugging appliances, walking or cycling for transportation, turning out lights and decreasing energy usage in any other ways possible.

Rufus will performing with sister Martha Wainwright at the third annual Blackoutsabbath concert (an afternoon show) on Sunday, March 14th at Park Avenue Armory. Tickets are on sale now.

The program, much like the fantastic Stanford White architecture of the space, will be decidedly European. Martha will sing Piaf and I (drum roll please)………….will sing the entire Berlioz song cycle, “Les Nuits d’Ete.” Now, this later announcement comes with a warning – let me explain.

I don’t consider this first run through of Hector’s massive work as the official premiere of yet another daunting move I’m making in the world of classical music. If anything, it’s a bench mark set to aid the rise of this gnarled bud that one day will see the light of day and blossom into a full blown lugubrious flower……in other words, I’m going to make a lot of mistakes. [Rufus Wainwright]

He’ll be in the UK and Europe for shows this April and May (his new opera, Prima Donna, premieres in London April 12th). Rufus’s new record, All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu, comes out April 20th in the US.

All tour dates are below…

Rufus Wainwright – 2010 Tour Dates
MAR 14, 2010 – NEW YORK, NY Park Avenue Armory
APR 11, 2010 – SOUTHAMPTON, UK Southampton Guildhall
APR 13, 2010 – LONDON, UK Sadler’s Wells
APR 15, 2010 – GLASGOW, UK Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
APR 16, 2010 – EDINBURGH, UK Usher Hall
APR 17, 2010 – SHEFFIELD, UK City Hall
APR 19, 2010 – GATESHEAD, UK The Sage
APR 20, 2010 – BIRMINGHAM, UK Symphony Hall
APR 22, 2010 – MANCHESTER, UK Apollo Theater
APR 23, 2010 – BRISTOL, UK Colston Hall
APR 25, 2010 – NOTTINGHAM, UK Royal Concert Hall
APR 26, 2010 – OXFORD, UK New Theatre
APR 28, 2010 – DUBLIN, IE Grand Canal Theatre
APR 29, 2010 – IPSWICH, UK Ipswich Regent Theatre
APR 30, 2010 – KREMS, AUSTRIA Danube Festival
MAY 02, 2010 – BRUSSELS, BE Palais des Beaux Arts
MAY 03, 2010 – PARIS, FR Theatre Mogador
MAY 05, 2010 – MADRID, SP Teatro Circo Price
MAY 06, 2010 – PORTO, POR Coliseu
MAY 07, 2010 – LISBON, POR Aula Magna
MAY 09, 2010 – BILBAO, SP Palacio Euskalduna
MAY 11, 2010 – BARCELONA, SP Grand Teatre del Liceu
MAY 13, 2010 – FIRENZE, IT Teatro Communale
MAY 15, 2010 – MILAN, IT Conservatorio
MAY 16, 2010 – ZURICH, SW Kaufleuten
MAY 17, 2010 – MUNICH, GER Muffathalle
MAY 19, 2010 – BERLIN, GER Volksbuhne
MAY 22, 2010 – OSLO, NORWAY Sentrum Scene
MAY 25, 2010 – HELSINKI, FIN House of Culture
MAY 27, 2010 – STOLKHOLM, SWE Filadelfiakyrkan
MAY 29, 2010 – WARSAW, POL Palladium
MAY 30, 2010 – COPENHAGEN, DK Radio Concert Hall
MAY 31, 2010 – HAMBURG, GER Kampnagel
JUN 02, 2010 – COLOGNE, GER Theater am Tanzbrunnen
JUN 03, 2010 – AMSTERDAM, HOL Carre