Shotgun Tori + Dave Starke present The Hotel Chelsea

THE CHELSEA HOTEL – A FOLK MUSIC REVIVAL

Take a trip back in time to the Chelsea Hotel, New York in the spring of 1968 and meet some of its famous musical residents – Joni, Leonard, Bob, Janis, Edith and Robbie. Wander through the building with your hosts Dave and Tori and listen as the songs float down the hallways – So Long Marianne, Both Sides Now, Blowin’ in the Wind, Me and bobby McGee and many many more…

Featuring the music of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Edith Piaf and Janis Joplin interspersed with stories about their lives, loves, dreams and aspirations.

About the performers:

Dave Starke is a guitarist and singer-songwriter who originally hails from Cape Town, but has been based out of small-town KZN for the past 15 years. He undertakes various projects ranging from cabaret tribute shows (Leonard Cohen, James Taylor) to Classic Rock (The Katembas) as well his favourite medium of Folk Music. As an original artist, Dave has released two albums, “Duende” (2018) and “Shifting Boundaries” (2020). In 2017 he composed the Original Sound Track for SA Indie-Art film, “The Killing Floor” and, more recently, contributed music to the television adaptation of “Recipes for Love and Murder” (MNET/Acorn). Dave is a two-time semi-finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest. His festival appearances include The National Arts Festival Fringe, The Great Zululand Music Festival, White Mountain Festival and the Barleycorn Music Festival.

Shotgun Tori is a lo-fi indie singer/songwriter from Johannesburg, South Africa who believes that stories are to be shared and not left to wither quietly. Tori has toured the length and breadth of South Africa, with over 600 live performances at coffee shops, bars, and festivals countrywide. Her songs have carried her internationally to London, Amsterdam, Mozambique, Namibia, and to the steps of a castle in France. She independently released her debut EP ‘Are We Fine Yet?’ in 2011 and she has subsequently released two more albums (both crowdfunded) ‘Be Brave’ (2013) (solo) and ‘Shotgun Tori and the Hounds’ (2019) (with her band of the same name).

Reviews of previous tribute shows:

“Dave Starke’s gorgeous voice and engaging stage persona embody Cohen and win over the audience from the first few notes of his first number. Music lovers should not miss this consummate tribute to one of the world’s great songsmiths.” Mike Raftery, Durban Folk Club

“Singer-guitarist Starke pays excellent tribute to Leonard Cohen, offering not only a well-researched history of the man, his poetry, music and achievements, but also insight into Cohen’s thought processes. It is an elegant and captivating show with the cool and confident Starke doing a great job with hits such as ‘So Long Marianne’, ‘Suzanne’, ‘Sisters of Mercy’, ‘Hallelujah’ and the moving ‘Treaty’, as well as other hits and lesser-known material. Highly Recommended!” Billy Suter, The Mercury

Reviews for “Shifting Boundaries” and “Duende”

“This is the height of reverential beauty….naked holiness…evidence that Starke is a master writer.” Michael Erfort, Oh Captain, My Captain

“An incantatory time-stopper, South African singer-songwriter, Dave Starke’s second album Shifting Boundaries is a crucible of pain, sorrow, love, and small mercies melted together to produce a silvery, meaningful beauty.” Catherine Del Monte, Texx and the City

Reviews for “Be Brave”

“Having put in the hours on stage to achieve a reputation as an energetic, soulful live performer, Shotgun Tori’snew album carries a lot of expectation. And you know what? It’s flippen awesome.” – Rolling Stones (SA)

“I don’t know if it’s something about the name Tori, but Shotgun Tori joins a line of hard-hitting, soul-searching female singer songwriters by the same name. I have a feeling that this star is headed just as far as the likes of Tori Amos.” Lisa Regula Meyer, Ear to the Ground Music (Canada)

Doors open at 1pm. Show begins at 2:30pm. We will be screening the Springboks vs New Zealand rugby game on our cinema screen from 5pm.

Café menu will be available throughout the day. You may want to eat before the music performance or during the rugby (if you would like to stay for that), so to accomodate for this we thought it better to keep things simple and just serve from our café menu throughout the day. Ou kitchen will be open from 1pm - 9pm

No under 18's. No Pets

Your seats will be reserved for you, we set tables to make sure all guests have the best view and sound possible.

Please be reminded that this is a theatre-style show.

Please be considerate of those around you by holding personal converstations for the break or after the show