After 20 years in the desert, Marianne Dissard is returning to Europe. Tomorrow night (Wednesday) marks the last Arizona show for the French chanteuse as a resident Zonie. When I first heard Dissard would be relinquishing her Tucson digs for the wider world abroad, I was a little dismayed. For years now I have looked forward to the release of Marianne’s new albums. I have followed her adventures around the world, knowing that each trip would end in dusty, quirky, lovely Tucson with some Valley shows likely attached. I have come to think of her as somehow belonging to us. Dissard and her music are strangely beautiful and completely enchanting, the same as the desert herself. And, like a lover being set aside, I initially felt hostile.
Then I thought about it. Really thought about it. It is Dissard’s free-spirited nature, her unwavering commitment to art and life, her lightness of being (so to speak) that has elevated her in my regard. It would be wrong to expect her to hold to one port forever, contrary to the very qualities I find myself admiring in her. Globetrotter that she is, however, I can console myself with the knowledge that her journeys will likely bring through town now and again.
Wednesday, at the Trunk Space, Marianne will unveil her new album The Cat. Not Me, a collaboration with Seattle’s Budo. Early tracks from the album are available for your listening pleasure here. Spirit Cave (one of our new local favs) will be opening along with the Waytansea Point. The evening promises to be a not-to-be-missed swirling of art and sound and hugs as we say farewell and uncage our adopted songbird.
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| Marianne Dissard & Budo, her most recent collaborative partner. |
