This summer, Israel will be host to concerts by a series of world-renowned entertainers, many making their first visits to Israel on the occasion of its 60th anniversary.
On July 29, new wave rocker Morrissey takes "The Morrissey Greatest Hits Tour" to the Heatwave Festival at HaYarkon Park in Tel Aviv, making his first-ever stop in Israel after years of rumored planned concerts there. In an online video announcement of the gig, the former lead singer of The Smiths even appeared with the word "Israel" tattooed in Hebrew on his forearm.
The legendary rock band, Blondie, led by Deborah Harry, will kick off the European leg of its 30th anniversary tour with a July 3rd concert at Raanana Park Amphitheater, outside of Tel Aviv.
Deep Purple, one of the world’s longest running and influential bands, will arrive in Israel for a couple of shows at Hanger 11 in Tel Aviv. During the years, through a career spanning more than 35 years, the band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. They will arrive in Israel as part of a European tour, promoting their most recent album, “Rapture Of The Deep”, which brought them back to the spotlight with a wave of warm reviews.
French electronic music duo Air will also come to Israel, playing two shows in October. The first one will take place on October 2nd, in Tel Aviv’s Hangar 11, followed by another concert in the Zappa club, on October 3rd. The collaboration between Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel began in 1995, and since then they have released five studio albums and become one of the world’s most famous acts, known for their unique combination of heart felt melodies and intelligent electronic based instrumentation which is both vintage sounding and groundbreaking at the same time.
Jazz Saxophonist veteran, Branford Marsalis will pay his second visit to Israel, playing a one off show at Tel Aviv’s Opera House. Marsalis’s last visit happened in July 97’, where he came with Jazz Saxophonist colleague Joshua Redman. On his current tour, Marsalis will be accompanied by Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums, Eric Revis on bass and Joey Calderazzo on the piano; all of which have collaborated with each other on several projects in the past. Marsalis’s extensive list of musical endeavours throughout the years includes participating in Art Blakey’s band, playing with Sting and joining Jay Leno’s “Tonight” show as a musical director.