Patrick Page & Perla Batalla Celebrate A LOVE LETTER TO LEONARD COHEN At 54 Below

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Perla Batalla, whose powerful voice, emotional honesty, and boundary-defying songs have captivated audiences at prestigious venues around the world, and Tony-nominated, Grammy-winning performer Patrick Page are confirmed to co-headline 54 Below in New York City for an intimate performance on Saturday September 21 at 7pm. Tickets are available here.  

This event is the record release party event for Perla Batalla's eighth album, A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend  (Symphonic). It takes place on  what would have been Cohen's 90th birthday and the day after the release of the album. Patrick Page features prominently on the new album, lending his voice to the poignant and timely track “Democracy.”   

"I am so thrilled to share my love of Leonard Cohen with audiences, and especially pleased to be working with Perla Batalla,” said Patrick Page. “Perla knows Cohen's music as deeply as anyone living, having performed and toured with him all over the world. Our partnership feels like synchronicity. From the very beginning, each moment has been a blessing."  

“I was deeply moved when I first heard Patrick Page on the cast recording of Hadestown; his magnificent voice touched me right to my very core,” said Perla Batalla. “I consider our amistad to be born of mutual love for Leo's body of work, and it continues to blossom with every note we sing. I've tried again and again to find the words to describe all that it meant having Leonard Cohen in my life, and to somehow thank him for years of encouragement, support, and love. Long before Leonard passed, he once asked me if I might continue to sing his songs after he was gone. My response, try to stop me.”   

This appearance is the second live event of 2024 for Batalla after devoting the first half of the year to her forthcoming album, A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend. The Looking for Leonard live event promises to be an electrifying celebration of Leonard Cohen's enduring legacy, in a soul-stirring evening of music, poetry and personal anecdotes, as they honor the profound impact of Cohen's genius on their lives and careers. Batalla was Cohen's collaborator and friend for more than two decades. Cohen, of course, was a revered, Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as well as invested as Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honor. An icon in his native land and around the globe, he is considered the poet laureate of Canada.

What immediately sets this new album apart from other Cohen tributes is that Perla's early career was guided by Cohen, who personally encouraged her journey as an artist. After singing with Cohen for so many years, she brings her own unique perspective to the Cohen canon.

Batalla embarked on this current recording project in Barcelona in early 2020, just before the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. When the world reopened, she returned to Spain, only to discover that the project hard drives had vanished.

Undeterred, she returned to her home in Ojai, California, and -- fueled by her remaining savings and big-hearted contributions from friends and fans -- returned to the studio to start the recording project anew, this time including two of her original compositions, both inspired by her late beloved friend.

Re-tracking in Barcelona, New York, Ojai, and Santa Monica, Perla's diverse sonic palette blends her magnificent voice with the splendid ferocity of flamenco musicians, a moving gospel choir, a plaintive oud, and a live string section. In a bit of good fortune, Broadway great Patrick Page (Hadestown, All the Devils are Here) made himself available to perform alongside her on Cohen's “Democracy”, an all too timely ode to the fragility of the American experiment. Multi–Grammy-winning producer Mike Elizondo (Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Encanto) produced the chilling track.

Hearing Perla Batalla's voice for the first time is an epiphany. One may go to hear the classic songs but will end up feeling a profound joy and pathos in the music as never before. There is a subtlety of tone, a depth of emotion, and a sublime expressiveness as she interprets songs with her transcendent voice, that make the experience of this music  deeply moving and absolutely unforgettable.

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