Art Garfunkel Returning to the Stage: ‘The Voice Is Back’
Art Garfunkel is returning to the stage this year, four years after suffering vocal cord paresis that forced the cancellation of Simon and Garfunkel’s summer tour. After playing a series of under-the-radar shows in late 2013, he’s booked a four-week American theater tour kicking off January 29th in Franklin, Tennessee.
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“The voice is back,” Garfunkel said in a statement. “I’m in flight again. I believe I have grown through adversity. A new creation has emerged that is truly exciting me — my stage show.”
In November of 2010, Garfunkel told Rolling Stone that his recovery from vocal cord paresis was very gradual. “In my bones I feel healthy,” he said. “I know it’s coming back. I just have to be patient. Two weeks ago, my doctor put a camera down my nose into my throat. He said ‘I really like what I see. You’re in good shape, basically. All the apparatus is right. You will definitely be a singer and just fine again. You just have to have patience. You just irritated it with the heat of smoking until two and a half months ago.'”
Garfunkel played a show at Cleveland’s Hanna Theater on December 13th, 2013 that mixed Simon and Garfunkel classics like “The Boxer” and “The Sound of Silence” with his own work like “Bright Eyes” and “Perfect Moment,” as well as a cover of Randy Newman’s “Real Emotional Girl.”
Simon & Garfunkel toured Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 2009. They had a summer tour booked in 2010, but were forced to postpone the dates due to Garfunkel’s vocal ailment. It’s unclear whether or not they plan on rebooking the shows. Paul Simon is playing American arenas with Sting this spring.
Here are Garfunkel’s tour dates:
1/29 Franklin, TN – Franklin Theater
1/30 Franklin, TN – Franklin Theater
1/31 Franklin, TN – Franklin Theater
2/1 Knoxville, TN – Bijoux Theater
2/7 Atlanta, GA – Rialto Theater
2/8 Macon, GA – Grand Opera House
2/9 Augusta, GA – Hardin Performing Arts Center
2/14 Savannah, GA – The Dollhouse Studio
2/15 Savannah, GA – The Dollhouse Studio
2/20 Orlando, FL – Plaza Live
2/21 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Amaturo Theater
2/22 TBD
2/27 Clearwater, FL – Capitol Theater
2/28 Ponte Vedra, FL – Concert Hall
3/1 Palm Beach Gardens, FL – Borland Center for Performing Arts