After suffering a broken arm, Burt Bacharach has canceled two upcoming concerts: Sept. 3 at the North Sea Jazz Fesival in Curacao, Dutch Antilles, and Sept. 17 at Lancaster Performing Arts Center in Lancaster, California.

According to his spokesperson, Burt is expected to be ready to perform by Oct. 1, when he is scheduled to perform a concert at UCLA Royce Hall in Los Angeles.

Burt Bacharach cancels 2 concerts to recover from broken arm

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Burt Bacharach is canceling two September concerts to recover from a broken arm. A spokeswoman for the 88-year-old composer and conductor said Tuesday that Bacharach will skip scheduled performances on Sept. 3 in Curacao and Sept. 17 in Lancaster, California.

A chorus of Broadway celebrities raised their voices in song in response to the June 12 Orlando shooting massacre, the worst in U.S. history. Sara Bareilles, Carole King, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sarah Jessica Parker and dozens more gathered June 15 at Avatar Studios to sing a benefit single of “What the World Needs Now is Love.” Playbill was on hand to capture the moment for an accompanying music video of the song, which is produced by Seth Rudetsky, James Wesley and Van Dean of Broadway Records. Click here for the digital download of the single. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the LGBT Center of Central Florida.

On June 24, Ghostlight Records will release the original London cast recording of Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined, Kyle Riabko’s jukebox musical celebrating the music of Burt Bacharach. The show garnered glowing reviews last year for Riabko’s fresh, imaginative take on the music of Burt Bacharach, and the cast album promises the full show, featuring more than 30 classic Bacharach songs as well as a dozen of Riabko’s demo recordings.

The show also boasts a significant endorsement, that of the composer:

“Kyle has done something truly unique,” said Burt Bacharach. “It’s brilliant. It’s a very fresh take on my music and a huge tribute to me.”

The album will be released digitally on June 24 with a CD release to follow in July 1.

The text of Ghostlight Records’ press release is below.

New York, NY (5/24/2016) – Ghostlight Records will release the Original London Cast Recording of
KYLE RIABKO’s Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined in digital formats, Friday, June 24 with
two-disc physical copies online and in stores Friday, July 1. Seen in New York and London, the show
revitalizes the catalog of the iconic American composer for a new generation with Riabko’s visionary
interpretations. The album also features special bonus tracks of Kyle’s never-before-heard original demos,
which formed the basis for the project. The 28-page booklet includes a note from Riabko, liner notes,
production and studio photography and opening night photos of Bacharach with the cast. Videos of the
West End production’s trailer and the album’s recording session are available on YouTube. Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined is produced and arranged by Kyle Riabko with David Lane Seltzer of
Entertainment 360 serving as executive producer.

Starting on June 3, customers that pre-order the album will immediately receive the two tracks “Close to
You” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart / This Guy’s In Love with You.” Please visit www.sh-kboom.
com/close-to-you-bacharach-reimagined.

Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined is the Original London Cast Recording of the hit West End show
which began Off Broadway and featured musician Kyle Riabko’s brilliant take on the genre-spanning
catalogue of Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David and others. The recording features over 30 hits as
performed by Riabko and the other incredibly talented young singers and musicians who made up the cast
of this magical show. The album showcases beautifully-reimagined versions of classics such as “Alfie,” “I Say
a Little Prayer,” “Walk On By,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “The Look of Love,” “What’s New
Pussycat?”, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “Don’t Make Me Over,” “(There’s) Always Something There to
Remind Me,” “A House Is Not A Home,” and the enduring title track.

Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined was hailed as “an exhilaratingly fresh new spin” by the London
Independent, “highly imaginative” by The Daily Telegraph, “the hippest and hottest musical night in town”
by The Stage and “ferociously clever” by The Daily Mail. When the show originally opened in New York,
Entertainment Weekly raved that “Riabko is the wonderfully appealing star. It’s completely swoon-worthy
and super-groovy.” New York Magazine called the show “a stunning new musical. It’s a revelation and it’s
fantastic.” According to The Washington Post, “the fun, youthful vibe of this show brings a new flavor to
Bacharach’s timeless classics.”

Burt Bacharach appeared at the show’s opening night in the West End, and said, “This is star musicianship.
Kyle is a beautiful singer and one hell of a guitar player. This is truly a gift. It’s a love letter to me.”

KYLE RIABKO is a singer, guitarist, composer and actor who grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Before
starring on Broadway in both Spring Awakening and Hair, Kyle released a full-length album of original
music on Columbia/Aware Records and spent his teen years appearing as an opening act for a wide range of
artists including: B.B. King, James Brown, John Mayer, Keb’ Mo’, Buddy Guy, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5,
among others.

After appearing in various film and television roles, Kyle created and starred in an earlier incarnation of the
show at New York Theatre Workshop and The Menier Chocolate Factory under the title What’s It All About?
Bacharach Reimagined. The production received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Revue,
an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and four Lucille
Lortel Award nominations, including ones for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Musical for Kyle.
The album features Kyle Riabko (vocals, guitars, keyboards, ukulele), Daniel Bailen (vocals, electric
bass, upright bass, cello, guitar), Greg Coulson (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Anastacia McCleskey
(vocals), Stephanie McKeon (vocals), Renato Paris (vocals, keyboards) and James Williams
(percussion).

“CLOSE TO YOU: BACHARACH REVISITED” TRACK LIST
DISC ONE
1. Intro
2. Anyone Who Had A Heart /
This Guy’s In Love With You
3. The Look Of Love / I Say A Little Prayer / Arthur’s Theme
4. Close To You
5. Psychedelic Interlude
6. I Come To You
7. Making Love
8. San Jose Interlude
9. The Windows Of The World /
What The World Needs Now Is Love
10. Message To Michael /
Do You Know The Way To San Jose
11. The Sundance Kid / Magic Moments /
Trains and Boats and Planes
12. Don’t Make Me Over
13. Walk On By
14. A House Is Not A Home
15. Make It Easy On Yourself / Mash-Up (Magic Moments,
Alfie, Making Love, This Guy’s In Love With You)

 

DISC TWO
1. Percussion Section (Reach Out For Me, Baby It’s You, Wishin’ and Hopin’, That’s What Friends Are For, Any Day Now)
2. I’ll Never Fall In Love Again
3. Mexican Divorce
4. I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself / On My Own /(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me
5. Raindrops Interlude
6. Alfie
7. What The World Needs Now Is Love
8. What’s New Pussycat?
9. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head
10. DEMO: Anyone Who Had A Heart / This Guy’s In Love With You
11. DEMO: The Look Of Love / I Say A Little Prayer For You /Arthur’s Theme
12. DEMO: Close To You
13. DEMO: I Come To You
14. DEMO: Making Love
15. DEMO: San Jose Interlude
16. DEMO: Message To Michael / Do You Know The Way To San Jose
17. DEMO: The Sundance Kid / Magic Moments
18. DEMO: Don’t Make Me Over
19. DEMO: Walk On By (original version)
20. DEMO: Walk On By (revised version)
21. DEMO: I’ll Never Fall In Love Again

Burt will kick off his U.K. tour this summer with a newly announced concert at the London Palladium on June 25. That date is in addition to his previously announced performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall with special guest Joss Stone on July 4. The Palladium show also promises “very special guest artists,” but it appears we’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out who those special guests are.

Burt Bacharach’s summer and fall tour has expanded over the last few days with the announcement of nine additional concerts. The latest addition to his itinerary is a performance at the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival on Sept. 3, where he’ll perform alongside stars including Tom Jones, Michael Bolton and Branford Marsalis.

As announced last week, Burt will also play the Monte Carlo Sporting Summer Festival on July 9 and Harpa Eldborg Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 12. Those two dates are in addition to his previously announced performance at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival on July 10.

In addition to the big festival shows, Burt will also perform at Belly Up in Solana Beach, Calif. on Aug. 21 and 22 (after the first night’s performance sold out, an additional night was added), at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Oct. 1, and at Seattle’s Jazz Alley from Oct. 21 to 23.

As always, for the most up-to-date list of shows, please visit the On Tour Page!

On April 5, Burt Bacharach will co-host a special free screening of the new autism drama Po at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles.

Presented in conjunction with National Autism Awareness Month, the screening will also feature director John Asher and the film’s stars, Christopher Gorham, Kaitlin Doubleday and newcomer Julian Feder.

Bacharach, who scored the movie, has a very personal connection to the film. His daughter Nikki suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism-spectrum disorder. She committed suicide in 2007 at the age of 40.

“I was so touched by the film that scoring it was a labor of love,” Bacharach said.

The screening will take place April 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. This special “blue carpet” event is free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. To attend, please RSVP to poscreening@janeowenpr.com.

The full press release is below:

Burt Bacharach’s summer tour of Europe has grown with the announcement of four additional dates in the U.K. Burt will perform on June 27 at Colston Hall in Bristol, on June 29 at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, on July 4 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, and on July 6 at Southend Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea.

The July 4 show at Royal Festival Hall will feature special guest Joss Stone, one of the vocalists who appears on the recently released Burt Bacharach: A Life in Song  (and who longtime fans may recall sang the title song in the 2004 remake of Alfie.)

The new dates are in addition to previously announced shows in Vienna, East Sussex (U.K.) and Copenhagen.

For the latest list of concerts, visit the On Tour page.

Burt was interviewed by The Tennessean’s Dave Paulson in anticipation of tonight’s show with the Nashville Symphony. Burt’s first big hit was a country song, “The Story of My Life,” a No. 1 hit for Marty Robbins in 1957, and although he never topped the country charts again, he told Paulson  he still feels a close connection to Nashville’s music community.

“It’s the citadel. It’s the one place remaining where there’s a concentration of writers, an interchange of people trying get (songs written). That’s the way it kind of used to be in the Brill Building years ago. I’m very appreciative of what you do down there.”

To see the entire interview, visit The Tennessean.com.

Huffington Post this morning has a terrific interview with Burt to promote the release of A Life in Song, his new concert (and interview) Blu-ray. An excerpt:

…Sometimes, just one note makes a difference. If you take one note or one bar and put it in or take it out, it influences the whole balance of the actual song. So for me, the turning point was an A&R man out of Chicago named Calvin Carter. He was working at Vee-Jay Records, an R&B label. Good label. He called me in New York and he said, “Jerry Butler wants to record this song of yours and he wants to be able to come into New York. I want to be there in New York with him and we want you to do the date.” That means write the arrangement, set the tempos, get the musicians you want, be in the studio–everything. That was the door that opened. Once I had permission to get into the studio and was able to control the environment of that particular song and episode that was going on, how it was done, and being able to say, “No, I need another take,” things changed.

To read the full interview, visit Huffington Post.

British singer-songwriter Rumer, who recently finished recording This Girl’s in Love, an album of Bacharach-David songs, at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, will perform a benefit concert for the South Pasadena Public Library later this month. The show takes place March 26 in the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room.

Fans may recall that Rumer released an excellent EP of Bacharach songs in 2010, Rumer Sings Bacharach at Christmas, and that her husband and bandleader is Rob Shirakbari, Burt’s former musical director and keyboard player.

The full text of the announcement is below.

“An Evening with Rumer” will be presented on the “Carnegie Stage” of the South Pasadena Public Library Community Room on Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m. The fundraising concert will benefit the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library and Rumer’s own handpicked charity, Save Korean Dogs/NamiKim.org, a non-profit animal protection organization.

Rumer is a critically acclaimed British soft rock singer/songwriter whose debut album “Seasons of My Soul” sold over a million copies worldwide. Since then she has released “Boys Don’t Cry” (2012) and “Into Colour” (2014) and earned raves for her live shows across the globe.  Rumer’s success has led to her performance for President Barack Obama at the White House, as well as for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.

Rumer and her husband J.R. (Rob) Shirakbari are currently in Los Angeles recording a Bacharach and David Songbook album entitled “This Girl’s In Love”. The much-anticipated album is set for release by Warner Music in 2016.

The one-of-a-kind, not-to-be-missed concert will also showcase an opening set by J.R. Shirakbari, who is the Music Director for Dionne Warwick, and for many years  he was the Music Director for Burt Bacharach.  Rob has recorded, or played with, many great artists, including Adele, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, Garth Brooks, Michael Bublé, Gladys Knight, Frank Sinatra, and many more. J.R. Shirakbari will soon be releasing his first solo album, “Theme.”.

For the South Pasadena concert J.R. Shirakbari will be playing a Steinway and Rumer will be accompanied by a stellar band comprised of:

• Jon Gilutin— a keyboardist who worked with Linda Ronstadt for 18 years and served as her Musical Director.
• Mark Goldenberg—played Lead Guitar with Jackson Browne from 1994-2010.
• Jerry Watts— Bass Chair at prestigious LAMA (Los Angeles Music Academy).
• John Ferraro—Currently, he is the drummer for Burt Bacharach.

Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at rumerconcert.eventbrite.com Admission cannot be purchased at the door. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. and seating will be “festival style” Autographed CDs and LPs will be available for purchase at a signing table. Ample free parking for concertgoers will be available at 1020 El Centro Street, thanks to support of the South Pasadena Unified School District.