Deva Mahal Announces Two Live Shows

Deva Mahal was born with blues in her blood. Beginning from her upbringing in Kaua’i, Hawaii to discovering her voice in Aotearoa, where she solidified her vision of becoming an artist performing alongside Fat Freddy’s Drop, Rhombus, Sola Rosa, Little Bushman, Ladi6, Lisa Tomlins, Hollie Smith, Anika Moa and Olmecha Supreme.

After returning to the US, Deva’s star continued to rise and in 2018, she released her aptly named debut album, Run Deep, followed by a series of singles released in 2019 by Motema Music.

Mahal’s CV on an International stage is impressive, with a solo show at Carnegie Hall, performing on Later with Jools Holland, and at the Hollywood Bowl, North Sea Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival and Byron Bay Blues Festival. She’s also performed alongside; The Roots, Ceelo Green, Bjork, Etta James, Ledisi, Mavis Staples, Sharon Jones, Lizz Wright, and many more.

At the start of 2020 she returned to NZ to commune with her whanau. She was struck with devastating medical news, which challenged her identity as a woman. Then the pandemic hit which led to her rediscovering her Aotearoa roots and reimagining her future.

New Zealanders now have the rare chance to see Deva Mahal live in Auckland & Leigh, a phenomenal opportunity not to be missed.

What emerged was a time of deep healing emotionally and physically and the inspiration to write Stand In, released August 28th. The wisdom of Mahal’s Mother graces this beautiful track – a lesson for us all in replacing fear with love.

Stand In is heavily rooted in Mahal’s upbringing between Hawaii and New Zealand, as well as her Afro-Caribbean heritage and background in American Folk Music. This gentle track with its powerful message was co-produced by Marika Hodgson (Troy Kingi, Kora, Alae, Hollie Smith) who describes Mahal as ‘one of the most amazing performers in the world’. Hodgson enhances Deva’s raw emotion, words and performance while delivering the song’s powerful message of self-love.

In Mahal’s words, “They say that art should reflect the times. Stand In comes at a time of increased awareness of the problem of systemic racism and inequality. I am often moved to tears unable to remember a time in my life where race and inequality have been more at the forefront of every news station, social media outlet, blog, television shows etc. In my life, I’ve never known what it feels like to not be aware of my skin colour.”

This song is an important work because the message is an empowering one that many people can connect with.

Buy your tickets today to see Deva Mahal’s raw talent & soul live across two incredible evenings.

TICKET LINKS:

Thursday 29th October: Tuning Fork, Auckland

Friday 30th October: Leigh Sawmill, Leigh

FACEBOOK EVENTS:

Thursday 29th October / Tuning Fork, Auckland

Friday 30th October / Leigh Sawmill, Leigh