Oumou Sangaré cancels her performance at LGW17; Sun Ra Arkestra graces our line-up instead

Thursday Sep 21st 2017

Festival news

We regret to inform you that Oumou Sangaré has to cancel her performance at Le Guess Who? 2017. But we’re also pleased to announce that Sun Ra Arkestra will grace our line-up instead, bringing their celebratory & visionary cosmic jazz to Utrecht on Sunday, 12 November.

The legendary Sun Ra Arkestra isn’t so much an ensemble as it is an ideology passed on from generation to generation. Founder Sun Ra (visionary pianist, poet, electronica pioneer and composer Herman Blount), derived from the planet Saturn, built a unique universe where jazz and spirituality converged. Marshall Allen, involved in Sun Ra since 1958, took over the lead after the death of Sun Ra in 1993. Under Allen’s guidance, the Arkestra continues to ascend towards parts unknown.

"Sun Ra embodied both the history of jazz as well as its future, evolving from big band swing and stride piano to space gospel and white noise blat, with live shows that embraced all of it. He's one of the 20th century's singular human beings, yet one who claimed to be an alien. Before George Clinton's mothership landed, before Cybotron and electro, before Lil Wayne's croak about being a martian, Sun Ra was already floating in space" - Pitchfork