Ilusha ??????????????????

Georgian born singer and guitarist, Ilusha ?????? [Tsinadze], brings his life story to the stage through a captivating take on Georgia???s venerable folk traditions. Born in Tbilisi and raised in New York, Ilusha introduces mountain songs and village dances into conversation with the global city, connecting two worlds separated by mountains and seas, history and culture.

Since Ilusha???s debut album Mother Tongue / ???? ???, he has performed the repertoire on both sides of the Atlantic. His festival and TV performances in Georgia have won him national fame. Likewise, his appearances in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. have allowed American audiences to experience his emotional renditions of Georgia???s beautiful and little-known musical traditions. With Ilusha???s warm stage presence, audiences see through the eyes of an immigrant with one foot in New York City, and the other in a little nation on the Black Sea.

His band features some of New York???s vibrant world music players??? clarinetist Peter Hess (Balkan Beat Box, Slavic Soul Party), the Brazilian virtuoso accordionist, Vitor Goncalves, drummer Richie Barshay (Klezmatics) and the accomplished jazz bassist Chris Tordini on the upright bass.