A special free concert (one that feels especially poignant right now with the current crisis in Japan) comes to Abrons Arts Center next weekend. The Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series will present two of Japan’s best known Tsugaru shamisen performers, Yutaka Oyama and Masahiro Nitta as part of their ongoing citywide JapanNYC festival. Abrons notes: The Tsugaru shamisen is a banjo-like instrument from the Tsugaru region in Aomori Prefecture in the northernmost part of Japan’s central island of Honshu. Both Oyama and Nitta are known for using the instrument to bring a modern sensibility to an ancient, highly percussive folk music, which is sometimes referred to as “Japanese bluegrass.” Watch a fantastic video of them performing after the jump.
FREE // 3pm // Saturday, March 26 // 466 Grand Street.
