 New York (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - Can't get to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup this year? Ladysmith Black Mambazo, 2009 Traditional World Music Grammy award winner for their 'Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu' CD, will bring South Africa to you as part of their 40-city national tour that kicked off last week. The group, which includes two generations of the South African Shabalala family and their cousins, has been performing since 1964. They've become the top-selling group from Africa over the course of 40 albums, garnering three Grammy awards and 14 nominations, as well as Oscar, Emmy and Tony nominations. And they've had an impact on pop trends worldwide, helped by their appearance on Paul Simon's 1986 Grammy Album of the Year 'Graceland.' New York Magazine recently linked Ladysmith Black Mambazo to current Billboard chart-toppers Vampire Weekend. And Crawdaddy pointed out why they've been a significant influence: "[Vampire Weekend's] poly-ethnic rhythms and African-tinted instrumentations would be second nature to kids born in Reagan's second term, whose parents and elementary school music teachers all bought Ladysmith Black Mambazo records because of 'Graceland.'" But you won't need to wear a sweater or a soccer jersey to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo. You'll just need the desire to experience the group rock critic Robert Christgau calls "absolute masters of a self-invented formula neither they nor their fans ever weary of." LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO U.S. TOUR DATES:
02/10/2010 - Grand Ballroom - Macomb IL
02/11/2010 - West Side Theatre - Gary IN
02/12/2010 - McAninch Arts Center - Glen Ellyn IL
02/13/2010 - Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago IL
02/14/2010 - Sheldon Concert Hall - St. Louis MO
02/16/2010 - Jesse Auditorium - Columbia MO
02/18/2010 - Memorial Hall - Bethel College North - Newton KS
02/19/2010 - McCain Auditorium, Kansas State University - Manhattan KS
02/20/2010 - Walton Arts Center - Fayetteville AR
02/23/2010 - Finney Chapel - Oberlin College - Oberlin OH
02/24/2010 - Akron Civic Theatre - Akron OH
02/25/2010 - Goodnight Auditorium - Franklin KY
02/27/2010 - Avalon Theater - Easton, MD
02/28/2010 - Byham Theater - Pittsburgh PA
03/02/2010 - Mahaffey Theater - St. Petersburg FL
03/04/2010 - Kenneth R. Williams Auditorium - Winston-Salem NC
03/05/2010 - Music Center at Strathmore - North Bethesda MD
03/06/2010 - Washington Center for the Performing Arts - Olympia WA
03/08/2010 - Nordstrom Recital Hall - Seattle, WA
03/10/2010 - Montalvo Center - Saratoga, CA
03/11/2010 - Sherith Israel/SF Jazz Festival - San Francisco CA
03/12/2010 - Caltech's Beckman Auditorium - Pasadena CA
03/13/2010 - Anthology - San Diego, CA
03/14/2010 - Centennial Hall, University of Arizona - Tucson AZ
03/16/2010 - Newman Center for the Perf. Arts - Denver CO
03/17/2010 - Lincoln Center - Fort Collins CO
03/18/2010 - Popejoy Hall - University of New Mexico - Albuquerque NM
03/19/2010 - Avalon Theater - Grand Junction CO
03/20/2010 - Peerys Egyptian Theater - Ogden UT
03/23/2010 - Emerson Music Hall - Bozeman, MT
03/24/2010 - University Theatre, University of Montana - Missoula MT
03/25/2010 - Bing Crosby Theatre - Spokane WA
03/26/2010 - Broadway Center - Tacoma WA
03/27/2010 - McIntyre Hall - Mount Vernon WA
03/29/2010 - The Ross Ragland Theater & Cultural Center - Klamath Falls OR
03/30/2010 - John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts - Eugene OR
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