Singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist Devendra Banhart will perform four ticketed, live-streaming concerts on Wednesdays during September 2020, from four locations across Los Angeles, in a series titled OLA: Devendra Banhart plays songs in the order they were written. The unique locations were hand-picked by Banhart for their cultural, historical, and emotional significance: the Mountain, Bob Baker Marionette Theater, The Broad, and the Underground Museum. The concerts explore—in chronological order—songs from his catalog of ten albums. Moses Berkson directs the OLA series; each show will feature one of Banhart’s frequent musical collaborators—including Noah Georgeson, Josiah Steinbrick, Gregory Rogove and Todd Dahlhoff—on a selection of songs. Tickets may be purchased here.

Banhart says:

“Ola sounds like Hello, But it means wave …

Hello is always a good place to start &

Wave seems to fit

what right now feels like ...

wave of clarity (what’s really important to me?)

wave of fear (what happens now?)

wave of abandon (how can I just really have fun and let it all go right now?)

wave of calm (eyes closed , how’s my posture? breath in , a deep breathing in , breath out , whoosh)

wave of anger (politics)

wave of silence ( )

the adjustment to this new world all coming in waves …

But about OLA

I liked the idea ...

to play four shows , all sets of songs played in the order in which they were written

Starting with Oh Me Oh My up to Ma …”

OLA 1 will stream on Wednesday, September 9, at 9pm ET/ CET / Japan Standard Time from The Mountain in Encinal Canyon and will comprise songs from Banhart’s first three albums: Oh Me Oh My, Rejoicing in the Hands, and Niño Rojo.

OLA 2 will stream on Wednesday, September 16, at 9pm ET/ CET / Japan Standard Time from the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and will feature songs from Cripple Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.

OLA 3 will stream on Wednesday, September 23, at 9pm ET/ CET / Japan Standard Time from The Broad museum and will be composed of songs from What Will We Be and Mala, performed in a gallery with multiple paintings and sculptures by Broad collection artist Cy Twombly, whom Banhart cites as an influence on his own career and creative process. A portion of the proceeds from OLA 3 will go to Creativity Explored—a Bay Area organization that gives artists with developmental disabilities the means to create and share their work with the community.

OLA 4 will stream on Wednesday, September 30, from the Underground Museum and will feature songs from Ape in Pink Marble and Ma.

Devendra Banhart’s most recent record on Nonesuch was a four-song EP, Vast Ovoid, released as a limited-edition 12” colored vinyl 45 in July 2020. The EP was a follow-up to Banhart’s latest studio album, Ma, which was released to critical acclaim in September 2019. Full of tender, autobiographical vignettes, Ma displayed a shift from the sonic experimentation of Banhart’s previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Uncut said of the record, “Ma’s thesis is quietly revolutionary, celebrating the nurturing quality of female instinct. Banhart’s most focussed work to date,” while Pitchfork called it “his best and most cohesive statement in more than a decade.”