Devendra Banhart released a breezy, upbeat song called “Abre Las Manos.” The track is the second single off Banhart’s upcoming album Ma, out September 13th via Nonesuch Records.
“Abre Las Manos,” which translates to “open your hands” in English, was inspired by the musician’s homeland of Venezuela. The video features a slideshow of vivid, scenic photographs taken of the capital Caracas and El Avila National Park. “Cierra tus ojos y mira tu alma/Una hojita en el árbol de amor,” he sings (“Look at your eyes and look at your soul/A little leaf in the love tree.”)
“My brother is in Venezuela, my cousins, my aunts and uncles,” Banhart said in a statement. “They are just holding their breath, in gridlock standstill. Maybe there is more Spanish writing on Ma because of the helplessness I’m feeling, it’s on my mind more than ever. I was thinking about the sorrow of having to put a child up for adoption, loving that child but not being with them, for whatever reason. That child is out in the world and you have to love them from afar. And that is exactly how I have felt observing the situation in Venezuela. There’s this helplessness, this place that has been a mother to you, that you’re a mother to as well, and it’s suffering so much. There is nothing you can do but send out love and remain in that sorrowful state.”
Ma is Banhart’s 10th LP — the single “Kantori Ongaku” was released last month, with a vibrant video directed by Los Angeles sister-duo Giraffe Studios. He’ll go on tour in support of the album in the fall, playing theaters across major U.S. cities like San Francisco’s Fillmore on October 16th and New York’s Brooklyn Steel on December 5th. $1 from every ticket sold will go to World Central Kitchen (WCK) to fight hunger around the world — specifically the crisis at the Colombia-Venezuelan border.
Devendra Banhart Tour Dates
9/27 — Dana Point, CA @ OHANA Festival
10/15 — Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater
10/16 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
10/18 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/19 — Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
10/20 — Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
10/22 — Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
10/24 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel
10/25 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Yost Theater
10/26 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/27 — Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/30 — Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
11/1 — Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown
11/2 — Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
11/3 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/5 — Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone
11/7 — Austin, TX @ Stubbs (Levitation)
11/23 — Leon, Guanajuato Mx @ Tecate Bajio Festival
11/30 — Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art
12/1 — Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
12/3 — Montreal, QC @ The Olympia
12/4 — Boston, MA @ The Wilbur
12/5 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
12/7 — Washington, D.C. @ 930 Club
12/8 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer