An all-star Vancouver tribute to a classic David Bowie album

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Later this month, some of Vancouver’s finest musicians will pay tribute to one of the most revered rock ‘n’ roll albums of the seventies.

On Friday, Sept 30 and Saturday, October 1, the Capilano Global Roots series and the Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver presents The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust: A Vancouver Celebration.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust follows a similar “re-imagining” last year, in that case of the Rolling Stones’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! According to a press release for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust: A Vancouver Celebration, the previous show was “such a hit that we had to do an encore.” Bowie’s death earlier this year made one of his records an obvious choice.

A concept album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars tells the story of a fictional bisexual rock star and Bowie’s alter ego named Ziggy Stardust who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. Bowie created Ziggy while in New York City promoting his record Hunky Dory and performed as the character on a tour of the United Kingdom, Japan and North America.

The 1972 album, Bowie’s fifth, and the character of Ziggy Stardust have been instrumental in the development of glam rock and opening doors to themes of sexual exploration and social commentary in the mainstream, including FM radio. According to the press release, “The record has been consistently considered one of the greatest albums of all time, with Rolling Stone magazine ranking it the 35th greatest ever. It was ranked the 20th greatest album ever in a 1997 British survey, the 24th greatest of all time by Q magazine and one of the 100 greatest releases ever by Time magazine.”

The musicians performing at the Vancouver tribute include Alex Cuba, Jim Byrnes, Ralph Shaw, Ndidi Onukwulu, Roy Forbes, Khari McClelland, Dustin Bentall, Rich Hope, John Reischman, and Keri Latimer. The musicians will perform under the leadership of Steve Dawson, a former Vancouverite and multiple award winner who currently makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Steve Dawson leads a team of Vancouver all-stars in a tribute to one of David Bowie's most famous albums.

Steve Dawson leads a team of Vancouver all-stars in a tribute to one of David Bowie’s most famous albums.

Tickets for the concerts range from $29-52 and are available at 604.990.7810 or through capilanou.ca/centre. The Kay Meek Centre is located at 1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver.

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