PINK MARTINI 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR AT LEXINGTON OPERA HOUSE ON SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2025
LEXINGTON, KY (September 16, 2024) –– Featuring a dozen musicians, with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages across six continents. In fall 2024, Pink Martini will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and play at the Lexington Opera House on Sunday, March 16, 2025.
The band’s music has been featured on a number of hit television shows and movies in both the US and around the world. Most recently, their songs have been featured in Netflix’s 2022 blockbuster Red Notice, The Weekend Away and Money Heist (Le Casa de Papel) and the latest season of The White Lotus.
Pink Martini has sold over 3 million albums worldwide on their own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog). The band’s debut album Sympathique was released in 1997, and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards in 2000. Pink Martini released Hang On Little Tomato in 2004, Hey Eugene! in 2007 and Splendor In The Grass in 2009. In November 2010 the band released Joy To The World—a festive, multi-denominational holiday album featuring songs from around the globe. Joy To The World received glowing reviews and was carried in Starbucks stores during the 2010 and 2011 holiday seasons. All five albums have gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey.
Pink Martini has an illustrious roster of regular guest artists: NPR’s Ari Shapiro, host of All Things Considered; Cantor Ida Rae Cahana (who was cantor at the Central Synagogue in NYC for five years); koto player Masumi Timson; harpist Maureen Love; and Kim Hastreiter (the publisher/editor-in-chief of Paper magazine).
Tickets for Pink Martini’s 30th Anniversary Tour will be available for purchase starting at 10 A.M. on Friday, September 20. Purchase tickets at ticketmaster.com, lexingtonoperahouse.com, or in person at the Central Bank Center Box Office from 12-4 P.M. on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Venue Contact:
Samantha Luse | SLuse@centralbankcenter.com
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ABOUT PINK MARTINI
In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, with the intention of eventually running for office. Like other eager politicians-in-training, he went to every political fundraiser under the sun… but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming, lackluster, loud and un-neighborly. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop – and hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994 provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, cleaning up the Willamette River, funding for libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks.
One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together. Their first song – “Sympathique” (Je ne veus pas travailler)- became an overnight sensation in France, was nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards, and to this day remains a mantra (“Je ne veux pas travailler” or “I don’t want to work”) for striking French workers. Says Lauderdale, “We’re very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America… the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world… composed of people of every country, every language, every religion. Except for Native Americans, all of us are immigrants from every country, of every language, of every religion.”
In 2019, Thomas Lauderdale and members of Pink Martini collaborated on a new release with the international singing sensation Meow Meow. This album, Hotel Amour, features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright, The von Trapps, Barry Humphries (of Dame Edna fame), and the inimitable late French pianist and composer, Michel Legrand. Also in 2019, Pink Martini released two 5-song EPs, each featuring a special guest singer who has been regularly touring with the band since late 2017. Bésame Mucho, with Edna Vazquez singing, features her original powerhouse “Sola Soy” alongside classic Spanish repertoire, like the title track, and “Quizás, quizás, quizás.” Tomorrow features vocalist Jimmie Herrod on a soaring version of the title track (famous from the musical Annie) alongside other repertoire, including the single “Exodus” which has been bringing audiences to their feet at Pink Martini concerts. Both albums feature Pink Martini, and arrangements by bandleader Thomas Lauderdale.
About Lexington Opera House
Located in Lexington, Kentucky, the Lexington Center Corporation (LCC) is a not-for-profit 501c3 corporate agency of the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government. It was established in 1974 to manage and maintain Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, the Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Convention Center), Triangle Park, and the Lexington Opera House. One of the nation’s most storied entertainment destinations, Central Bank Center venues collectively welcome an average of 1.3 million patrons annually.
The Lexington Opera House, built in 1886 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the premier performing arts centers in the region. Since its opening, the Opera House has played host to such famous stage performers as W.C. Fields, The Marx Brothers, Al Jolson, Julie Harris, Steve Martin, Brian Wilson, and Graham Nash. It has undergone two major renovations and remains a cultural destination in downtown Lexington.
About Oak View Group
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for a collection of world-class-owned venues and a client roster of arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. Founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015, OVG is the leading developer of major new venues either open or under development across four continents. Visit OakViewGroup.com, and follow OVG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.