The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present Hanggai on April 9, 2016 at 8:00 PM in the Milliken Auditorium. Tickets are $27 in advance, $30 at the door, $24 for Museum Members plus a $2 processing fee. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Museum Box office at 231-995-1553 or on line at www.dennosmuseum.org. Also at www.MyNorthTickets.com or 1-800-836-0717.
Hanggai is a Beijing based group of musicians who left the Punk Rock clubs of Beijing to re-discover their roots in Inner Mongolia. They now perform Mongolian folk music with traditional and western instruments combined with raspy deep throat singing and a loosely rock-based structure.
Since first appearing here in 2009 Hanggai has emerged on the international stage as one of the outstanding touring bands from China. They have performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York and other prestigious venues among them some of the best international festivals in the world, including Rosklide, Lowlands, Lotus Festival, the Chicago World Music Festival, Sziget, Wacken open air (Europe’s largest metal festival), FMM festival, Sydney festival, Zwarte Cross and Womad festivals in Abu Dhabi, UK, Gran Canarias, Australia and New Zealand.
Writing about Hanggai’s debut CD Introducing Hanggai the online music source Rhapsody states, “Hanggai distills everything powerful about Mongolian folk music, then adds guitar and bass to the ancient horsehair fiddle, the two-stringed lute and growled “overtone vocals” to make something new and exhilarating from the ingredients. Do not miss this group. Hanggai have made the leap from folk phenomenon to crossover pioneers without losing their soul. Built from — and meant for — Mongolia’s wide open spaces, this music will make you homesick for a place you’ve never been.”
Since that first CD, two have followed, He Who Travels Far in 2010 and Baifang (Back to You) in 2014. In 2015 Hanggai won “Sing My Song” on the Chinese National Television Network CCTV, the equivalent of “The Voice” on American TV. In that time the music has trended further into the world of rock while still keeping the influence of Mongolian Folk.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to present Hanggai,” says Gene Jenneman, Museum Director, “This band plays the top world music festivals around the globe and I am pleased to have them return to our stage. Hanggai is an outstanding group of musicians. Whether you are six or sixty you will love this music.”
This concert season is made possible at the Dennos Museum Center with support the Robert T and Ruth Haidt Trust, and the Osterlin Performance Endowment, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts, with media support from WNMC 90.7 and TV 29&8. Housing for the performers is provided by the Cambria Suites.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday’s until 8 PM and Sundays 1-5 PM.
Admission is $6.00 adults, $4.00 for children and free to museum members. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at the intersection of East Front Street and College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.