Since his acclaimed »Reflektor« festival in November 2024, US guitarist Marc Ribot has achieved legendary status in Hamburg too. Alongside his wide-ranging musical activities, Ribot fights with great passion against social injustice and anti-democratic movements – a struggle that is alarmingly relevant in these times.
His tried-and-tested weapon is music: with his guitar in tow, Ribot performs his programme »Sounds of Resistance«, which he has put together especially for this concert. Just how committed the artist is is evident from his website, which features an »Activism« tab. There, among other things, he calls for a trade union for artists, has campaigned for financial support during the coronavirus pandemic and warns of the consequences of Donald Trump’s policies.
»My relationship with the guitar is like a struggle,« writes Ribot in his book »Unstrung«. »I’m constantly forcing it to be something else – a saxophone, a scream, a cart rolling down a hill. Sometimes it obeys. But then something happens that cries out for interpretation, and then it all starts again from the beginning … Guitars don’t mind a struggle. Guitars are a struggle. I’ve lived with guitars for a long time. I’ve bent them to my will. And they’ve bent me.«
PERFORMERS
Marc Ribot guitar
PROGRAM
»Sounds of Resistance«
