Sultans of String Get Set For Their Christmas Caravan To Ride On Tour

Sultans of String get set to take their genre-bending mix of songs to venues across Canada and US. Known for being culturally inclusive the bandcombines elements of Spanish flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban rhythms, and French Manouche Gypsy-jazz into their eclectic sound. See full schedule below for shows for the whole family.

The Sultans of String are: Chris McKhool · Chendy Leon, Jr. · Eddie Paton · Drew Birston · Kevin Laliberté

"We are really thrilled to be able to share our music with people around the globe. And this Christmas Caravan tour is super exciting for us. It's fun to perform a fresh "world music" take on the seasonal music that people know and surprise our audiences with some new Christmas songs we wrote that they have never heard before. It is also a great experience to work with a singer on this tour. People know us more for our instrumental music, but working with these special guest vocalists bring a whole new fresh dimension to the music" - says McKhool

As we get closer to the holiday season expect to hear songs from the band's acclaimed album Christmas Caravan. Released in 2017 Christmas Caravan charted at #6 on Billboard's World Music Chart and delivers musical harmony with its diverse sound. Co-produced by bandleader and violinist Chris McKhool, along with John "Beetle" Bailey who has been nominated by the Canadian Folk Music Awards as producer of the year for the release (results Dec. 8).

"Sultans of String go deeper, bringing us tunes for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and just general wintertime chilling" - Exclaim!

This season the band will be premiering four new videos for songs "Flight of the Angels", "Jesu Joy" featuring Mary Fahl (former lead singer of October Project,) "Turkish Greensleeves" featuring Gundem Yayli Grubu, and "The Christmas Song" featuring Nikki Yanofski.

"Sultans of String keeps imaginative imperatives in overdrive for the entirety of Christmas Caravan, a generous pitch for global unity through the music of Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. These five musicians have jubilantly recharged the classics with arrangements that demand attention" - Downbeat

Sultans of String are 3x JUNO nominees/3x CFMA winning ambassadors of musical diversity. In 2017 they were recognized by the Folk Music Ontario Awards who honored Chris McKhool and Richard Bona with The Songs From the Heart Folk Music from Around the World Award for their song "Sing For Kwanzaa" from Christmas Caravan.

"one is hard-pressed to recall anything quite like Christmas Caravan by Canada's iconic ensemble the Sultans of String" - World Music Report

On Christmas Caravan you with find collaborations with 6x Grammy winning Paddy Moloney (The Chieftains), Ruben Blades & Luba Mason (Panamanian 7 Grammy and 5 Latin Grammy Award winner), platinum-selling jazz vocalist Nikki Yanofsky, 2x JUNO/Grammy Winner Alex Cuba, Benoit Bourque of Quebec's Bottine Souriante (3x JUNOs, 4x Gold, 3x Platinum records), Sweet Honey in the Rock (Grammy winning all-woman, African-American a cappella group), Cameroon's Richard Bona (Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock), Canada's singer to the stars Rebecca Campbell (Emmylou Harris, Alanis Morissette), singer Mary Fahl from NYC's October Project, a recording collective of Turkish Roma violinists in Istanbul, Sudanese-Canadian singer Waleed Abdulhamid, Nashville-based JUNO Award winning country singer Crystal Shawanda, sitar virtuoso Anwar Khurshid, and hang drum player David Charrier from France.

Sultans of String are celebrating their 10th anniversary touring together. See them at the following venues across Canada and the US-

Oct 14 - Bluffton, OH - Bluffton Townhall Concert Series

Oct 18 - Terrebonne, QC Chapelle du Collège Saint-Sacrement / Trio

Oct 19 - Gorham, NH - Medallion Opera House

Oct 20 - Gorham, NH - Medallion Opera House (10am for young audiences)

Oct 21 - L'Assomption, QC - Theatre Hector-Charland / Quartet

Nov 1 - El Dorado, CA - El Dorado County Community Concerts

Nov 2 - Auburn, CA - Auburn Placer Performing Arts Center

(10am & 1pm for young audiences)

Nov 2 - Auburn, CA - Auburn Placer Performing Arts Center - evening show

Nov 3 - Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's

Nov 4 - Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's (10:30AM for young audiences)
Nov 22 - Owen Sound ON - Heartwood Hall
Nov 24 -- Utopia ON -- Utopia Hall
Nov 25 - Kitchener ON -- Registry Theatre
Nov 29 - Invermere BC -- Pynelogs Cultural Centre-Columbia Valley Arts
Dec 1 and 2 - Cranbrook BC -- Symphony of the Kootenays
Dec 3 - Golden BC -- Kicking Horse Culture
Dec 4 - Trail BC -- Charles Bailey Theatre
Dec 5 - Vancouver BC -- Centennial Theatre
Dec 7 - Maple Ridge BC -- ACT Arts Centre
Dec 12 - Picton ON -- Regent Theatre
Dec 13 - Markham ON -- Flato Markham Theatre
Dec 14 -- Sudbury ON -- Collège Boréal Concert Hall
Dec 15 - Welland ON -- Welland-Port Colborne Concert Assn
Dec 16 - London ON -- Aeolian Hall
Dec 17 - Lindsay ON -- Academy Theatre
Dec 18 - Ottawa ON -- NAC Studio Theatre
Dec 19 - Bellows Falls VT -- Stone Church Center
Dec 20 - Norfolk CT -- Infinity Hall
Dec 21 - Stroudsburg PA -- Chester Concerts
Dec 22 - Boston MA -- Extended Play Sessions
Dec 23 - Cazenovia NY -- Catherine Cummings Theater

Christmas Caravan was produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council. We would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario. This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada's private radio broadcasters.

Listen here: