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Gorillaz: Concert Preview

October 12, 2022

Throughout their 24 years as a band, Gorillaz have remained an influential, indescribable and era-defining force in popular music. Despite ostensibly consisting of four animated members, the “virtual band” is a result of the collaboration between two artists, British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett and musician Damon Albarn. Albarn, originally of the britpop band Blur, is the group’s only consistent songwriter, but his commitment to enlisting outside collaborators has kept the act from feeling like a glorified post-Blur solo career. 

Over the course of Gorillaz’ 7 studio albums, Albarn has shared songwriting duties with the likes of Lou Reed, Robert Smith, Kali Uchis, Snoop Dogg, and many more. This wide range of assistance has enabled the band to defy traditional genre labels, allowing Albarn to trade his straightforward rock career for one which routinely delves into genres like hip hop, reggaeton, synthpop and ska. Their 2017 album Humanz  even includes a feature from Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, with whom Albarn notoriously feuded in the 1990’s. 

Although technically being a member of the band, Jamie Hewlitt has rarely contributed musical material. Instead, he has used media such as comic books and music videos to craft Gorillaz’ robust fictional world. This multi-media facet of the band serves a dual purpose, as it allows their lineup to shift from song to song without sacrificing a sense of consistency, and facilitates Albarn and Hewlitt’s desire for the group to inspire sociopolitical change. The band’s fictitious facade shields it from the skepticism usually directed towards overtly political musicians, allowing Demon Days’ anti-war messaging and the environmentalism of Plastic Beach to be covertly disseminated across broad audiences. 

Gorillaz will be performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion on October 17th, 2022 with support from Earthgang. Gates open at 6:30 and the show begins at 7:30. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here. No specific COVID regulations are in place, as the venue is primarily outdoors.

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