WHAT’S ON Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest

MAKAYA MCCRAVEN

NOVEMBER 14, MÜPA PALACE OF ARTS, BUDAPEST The band leader, Makaya McCraven, is one of the leading lights of the new generation of drummers, a 'beat scientist', whose name can be found on one of the finest records of 2020. Incidentally, he is also of Hungarian origin – and from a musical family at that – his mother, Ágnes Zsigmondi, is a singer and flute player in the legendary group Kolinda. McCraven views contemporary jazz in terms of the layers of the genre's history, and himself adds freshness with a groove-centered sound and hip-hop-style off-beats. His sound is one of the most exciting ones around. Makaya McCraven's parents – Zsigmondi, who defected from Hungary in 1979, and the American jazz drummer Stephen McCraven (the drummer for Archie Shepp, among other activities) met in Paris, where Makaya was born in 1983, before they all relocated to the United States three years later. McCraven began making a name for himself on the Chicago jazz scene in the 2000s among avant-garde musicians breaking down the orthodox limits of the genre. Through his sensational club concerts and live albums, he developed into an increasingly self-confident bandleader. With his 2018 LP Universal Beings, he – like Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings and Robert Glasper – expanded the audience for the genre. Inspired by and creatively reimagining jazzpoet and proto-rap icon Gil Scott-Heron's final album, 2020's We're New Again, though, was straight-out one of last year's most celebrated albums. This album that also employs folk traditions (including sampling his mother's music) perfectly demonstrates why McCraven is currently one of the biggest figures in spiritual jazz and avant-garde groove music His first concert in Hungary is a cause for celebration, and one to which he is also bringing a new album being released on the Blue Notes label. DROPKICK MURPHYS

FEBRUARY 7, 2023, BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA One of the most essential Celtic punk bands return to the Hungarian capital. The Dropkick Murphys span the gap from punk rock ragers to melodic, Irish-inspired tunes with their songs. Volume cranked, heads held high, smiles wide, the band charge forward with the same spirit, determination and exuberance that brought them here, in the first place. Their new album ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’, released in September, 2022, has a special theme, as one can guess from the title: the Boston band has taken inspiration from the work of one of their greatest idols, Woody Guthrie, and set to music the legendary singer-songwriter's previously unreleased lyrics. The band performed at some of Europe's biggest festivals over the summer, and once again took the Best Ambient label from the world stars. Their performances are always an experience, if only because of the enormous energy and fun they bring to the stage. This fall, they began to head out on tour in the United States, followed by Europe in January with their muchanticipated huge parties. Formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996, the band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and building a reputation locally through constant touring and yearly St. Patrick's Day week shows, held in and around Boston. The 2004 single, ‘Tessie’ became the band's first mainstream hit and one of their biggest charting singles to date. The band's final Hellcat release, 2005's The Warrior's Code, included the song ‘I'm Shipping Up to Boston’. The song was featured in the 2006 film The Departed, and went on to become the band's only platinum-selling single to date. It remains one of their best-known songs. The band is known for their loud, energetic live shows.

livenation.hu

OCTOBER 25, BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA 50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, is an award-winning rapper, entrepreneur, actor and producer from Queens, New York. Recognized as one of the most talented and prolific music artists of his time, the Grammy Award winner rose to fame with his record-shattering debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' and has since sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and been awarded numerous prestigious accolades. Jackson has leveraged his star power to cross over with unparalleled success as an entrepreneur, actor and producer. From Get Rich or Die Tryin' being one of the fastest selling albums in history to creating one of the most influential deals in hip-hop with the sale of Vitaminwater, Jackson continues to break records. In 2005, he founded G-Unit Film & Television, Inc. which has produced a wide variety of content across numerous platforms and sold a myriad of shows to various networks. Among these is the most watched, critically-acclaimed #1 show on Starz, “Power,” in which he not only co-starred in but also served as executive producer and director. Although he hasn't released a new studio album in recent years, his songs for his various projects continue peaked the charts. WORLD PRESS PHOTO

UNTIL OCTOBER 30, HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM, BUDAPEST The public can discover many carefully uncovered stories in the World Press Photo exhibition. The four global winners have each spent years working on their subject. Documenting the Amazonian dystopia for example, took more than 13 years. The Ukraine story illustrates how eight years of work have brought us to the to the current war, and the journey to the storming of the Washington Capitol. Those photojournalists who brought us these stories had to work in an increasingly hostile environment. sometimes risking their lives. In the wake of the new structure of World Press Photo subjects, images, perspectives and formats. The exhibition shows that the same thing is happening pretty much everywhere in the world: the climate crisis, the struggle for social justice, violence against women. We see young people everywhere from Argentina to Sudan standing up for their rights. Atrocities committed against indigenous peoples are coming to light. But it can also be seen that alongside despair, there is always hope, as people around the world try to take control and make a difference, change things if they need to. (Featured here is the photo ‘Kamloops Residential School’ by World Press Photo of the Year 2022 winner, Amber Bracken)

worldpressphoto.org

THE ART OF THE BRICK

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 – JANUARY 31, 2023, KOMPLEX EXHIBITION CENTER, BUDAPEST Visitors to the “World’s Most Popular Display of LEGO® Art!” can discover over one million LEGO bricks transformed into more than 100 sculptures by artist Nathan Sawaya. This critically acclaimed collection includes Sawaya’s original sculptures as well as re-imagined versions of some of the world’s most famous art masterpieces, such as Michelangelo’s David, Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Other highlights include a 6-meter Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton and an innovative, multimedia collection of LEGO brick-infused photography produced in tandem with award-winning photographer Dean West. This inspiring exhibition has already been seen by over seven million people worldwide! As a part of the exhibition, visitors can enter the FUN ZONE where everyone can express their creativity from the smallest to biggest. Nathan Sawaya is an award-winning artist who creates awe-inspiring works of art out of some of the most unlikely things. His global touring exhibitions, THE ART OF THE BRICK, feature large-scale sculptures using only toy building blocks: LEGO® bricks to be exact. His work is obsessively and painstakingly crafted and is both beautiful and playful. Nathan Sawaya has earned a top position in the world of contemporary art and has created a new dimension by merging Pop Art and Surrealism in awe-inspiring and ground-breaking ways. His art consists of playing with the material, color, movement, light and perspective.