Lila Downs

The celebrated Mexican-American singer Lila Downs closes Duke Performances' 2014/15 season with a special May concert at the Carolina Theatre. Renowned for her magnetic performances, Downs has created a singular exploration of Mexican roots music that engages the rich culture on both sides of the U.S./Mexican border. The ferocious sweep of Downs' voice provides the foundation for her performance; as "she shifts from cumbia to norteño, jazz to balladry, Downs alternates the lower register of her voice with breezy, childlike murmurs and sustained, high-pitched bursts of passion" (New York Daily News).Born in Oaxaca and raised in Minnesota, the daughter of an American professor and a Mixtec cabaret singer, Downs came of age in both countries. With her passionate lyrics, charismatic exuberance, and a musical vocabulary that ranges from Celtic folk to brassy banda, this GRAMMY Award winner "has reinvigorated the place in Mexican music where popular and traditional sound collide" (Washington Post).