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“Live shows are my home and my one true love” After two years at home and away from live audiences, Shlomo Artzi is finally free to roam the country’s theatres and stages. His “Artzi Tour” - a series of countrywide open-air concerts, has finally taken off and a brand-new album is on its way \ By Maya Cohen

Is there a more quintessentially Israeli singer than Shlomo Artzi? His music is so intrinsically identifiable with the common experience of Israeli life, that it has become its very soundtrack. His lyrics speak more for the Israeli experience than a thousand dissertations ever could, and his connection with his legions of fans often feels symbiotic in nature. Just before the pandemic put an end to live shows and concerts, Artzi had still managed to hold a mega concert celebrating his five decade-long career. As lockdowns fell upon the world in 2020, Shlomo Artzi was left housebound and alone, away from live audiences for the first time in years. Not getting off the stage Two years later, things have definitely changed. The summer of 2022 will see 72-year-old Artzi grace stages countrywide, his “Artzi Tour” in full swing, after launching in April. He’ll be giving shows in almost each one of Israel’s open-air venues (on July 14 th

he’ll be playing at the Modi’in Amphitheatre, on July 23 rd at Caesarea Amphitheatre, on July 28 th at the Ashdod Amphitheatre and on September 8 th at the Sultan’s Pool Amphitheatre in Jerusalem). The long-awaited “Artzi Tour” comes after a year of plans being done and undone a thousand times, by a series of Covid variants that paralyzed cultural life in Israel and across the world. Through the chaos, the thirst to get back on stage never left the veteran singer for it meant nothing less than getting back home. “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster”, he confesses with a smile. “You train yourself to accept that there are going to be times that you’ll have to stay home, away from the stage. But frankly, performing every week is just as much of an emotional rollercoaster. Time-outs can be good too, and there’s always that second before going back up there, where you wonder if you’ve still got it. But in the end, everything falls back into place.”

“The album, called “By the sea”, will include 14 songs. It has yet to be launched, as I’m still unsure about it. It’s not that I’m unsure about how good it is, it’s more a question of self-confidence. I keep wondering if this album will resonate with the world right now”

28 ATMOSPHERE JULY 2022