Pierre Kwenders shares live “Kilimanjaro” video, announces eight shows
Kwenders’ most recent album, José Louis And The Paradox Of Love, won the 2022 Polaris Prize
Vanessa Heins
Pierre Kwenders is riding high in the wake of his 2022 Polaris Prize win last Tuesday. In addition to the esteem he now holds as the artist behind Canada’s official album of the year (his April LP José Louis And The Paradox Of Love), the Kinshasa-born, Montreal-based artist received a stipend of $50,000 in Canadian dollars (roughly 36,350 USD), to continue his work. Today, just a week out from his milestone victory, he’s revealed upcoming performance dates and shared a live video for his José Luis cut “Kilimanjaro.”
The track — a solo song on a record that boasts features from Win Butler, King Britt, NGABO, Sônge, anaiis, Babel Bukasa, and the Africa Intshiyetu Choir — is a buoyant, sax-led ode to Kenya and the storied mountain that overlooks it from just across the Tanzanian border. Its new video finds Kwenders delivering his upbeat, French-language vocals in a blue-lit room as light reflected off of a spinning disco ball casts celestial shapes across his face and body.
Kwenders’ newly announced tour comprises eight shows, spread comfortably over a period of four months. He’ll kick things off at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles on October 26 before heading to the Netherlands for a November 12 at Utrecht’s Le Guess Who. He’ll then head back across the pond for a December 8 set at New York City’s Nublu, and return to his adopted home country for five more sets in February. Check out his full touring schedule below.
Pierre Kwenders 2022/2023 tour dates
October 26 - Los Angeles, CA - Gold Diggers
November 12 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who?
December 8 - New York, NY - Nublu
February 8 - Victoria, BC - Capital Ballroom
February 9 - Vancouver, BC - Fox Cabaret
February 16 - Ottawa, ON - SAW Centre
February 17 - Toronto, ON - Adelaide Hall
February 24 - Montreal, QC - Ausgang
