Lana Del Rey to play Israel’s Meteor Festival
Forced to cancel show in 2014, ‘gangsta Nancy Sinatra’ joins long lineup of international musicians for September gig on Jordan River
American songstress Lana Del Rey will perform in Israel on September 7, joining a full lineup planned for the Meteor Festival, a three-day event being held Thursday through Saturday, September 6-8, at Pecan Park on the Jordan River.
Del Rey had planned to perform in Israel in 2014 but was forced to cancel due to the Operation Protective Edge conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
A self-styled “gangsta Nancy Sinatra,” the singer, whose original name is Elizabeth “Lizzy” Woolridge Grant, is known for her sultry, gravelly voice and music that refers to the pop culture of the 1950s and 1960s.
Her latest album, 2017’s Grammy-nominated “Lust for Life,” reached number one in the US Billboard 200 and in charts around the world.
Her songs have appeared in many movie soundtracks, including The Great Gatsby (2013), Maleficent (2014), and Big Eyes (2014).
She will be joined at the festival by Rapper Pusha-T, electronic musician Flying Lotus, American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and Russian DJ Nina Kraviz, as well as dozens of local and international performers, including Fortis, Berry Sakharov, ACollective, Assaf Amdursky, Ester Rada, Hadag Nachash, Jane Bordeaux, Khalas, Noga Erez and Balkan Beat Box.
The concept of the festival is a cutting-edge musical journey held on the shores of the Jordan River in the Upper Galilee, timed for the end of the summer and just before the Jewish New Year.
The Festival will host more than 50 international acts and a similar number of local artists. Participants will camp under the pecan trees, watching shows on five stages, and can buy full event or day passes.
“For three days and two nights we plan to create an alternative reality and dive right in,” wrote Eran Arielli from Naranjah, the promotion company putting together the festival.
Jessica Steinberg contributed to this report.
