ONLINE: Pink Martini

media release: Pink Martini, Portland, Oregon’s globetrotting, self-described “little orchestra,” has just announced and put on sale their first ever streaming concerts, “Home for the Holidays,” to debut December 17, and “Good Riddance 2020,” to debut December 31. Both programs were filmed at the band’s World Headquarters in downtown Portland, in front of the band’s 35-foot Christmas tree. 

Long associated with the holidays, Pink Martini has toured every December for well over a decade in support of their fifth album, Joy to the World, a non-denominational holiday classic which features music from around the globe. The band also performs two sold out concerts every New Year’s Eve, alternating between Arlene Schnitzer Hall in downtown Portland, and Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles. And the band’s NPR produced special Joy to the World: A Holiday Spectacular, hosted by All Things Considered host (and frequent Pink Martini collaborator) Ari Shapiro, has been syndicated by public radio stations around the US since its debut in 2015. With the band on long-term hiatus due to the global pandemic, it was important to bandleader Thomas Lauderdale to find a new way to bring some holiday joy to the band’s global fanbase. “I love the holidays and all of the music that goes with the season,” says Lauderdale. “Our goal has always been to make inclusive holiday music that can be played anywhere in the world. And this year we’re bringing that spirit right into your living rooms.”

Pink Martini is partnering with online concert presenter OurConcerts.Live to bring both concerts directly to fans on their TVs, computers and phones. Though the shows are recorded in advance, members of the band will be on hand live for chat and commentary during each concert’s debut broadcast, and the shows will also be available to ticket-buyers to stream for a limited time after each premiere, for those fans who need a more flexible viewing schedule. The concert goes on sale Thursday, Dec. 3, individually and as a two-concert package, at OurConcerts.Live/pinkmartini. Student, Senior, and Fan Club discounts are available. 

In addition, the band is thrilled to announce that they are partnering with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) and NPR to allow even more fans across the US to enjoy their New Year’s concert. OPB will televise an hour-long version of the New Year’s Eve concert— accessible to all in the region — on OPB-TV on Thursday December 31 at 9:30pm PST, and NPR will air a 60-minute audio version of the concert as part of their venerable annual Toast of the Nation broadcast, hosted by Christian McBride and featuring New Year’s Eve concerts from around the country. Pink Martini has had multiple previous New Year’s Eve performances from Disney Hall in Los Angeles aired on Toast of the Nation in the past. 

These brand new concerts feature holiday classics new and old, alongside fan favorite Pink Martini songs. Bandleader Thomas Lauderdale will anchor the concerts from the piano, with lead singer China Forbes at the microphone. Additional special guests appearing on one or both concerts include co-lead singer Storm Large, NPR’s Ari Shapiro, regular guest vocalists Edna Vazquez and Jimmie Herrod, and Sofia von Trapp, and Cantor Ida Rae Cahana. 

The New York Times has called lead singer China Forbes “an unpretentious, pitch-perfect chanteuse” and Variety states, “impressive at every musician’s station, this ensemble produces music that’s charming and elegant.” The Washington Post notes, "this is rich, hugely approachable music, utterly cosmopolitan yet utterly unpretentious. And it seems to speak to just about everybody.” 

In 1994 Lauderdale had finished college and returned to his hometown of Portland, OR. He was working at City Hall with an eye towards running for office. Being a classically trained pianist, music was always in the background, and he formed his “little orchestra” Pink Martini as a means to provide music for political fundraisers for progressive causes near to his heart - including civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, and public broadcasting. China Forbes, Lauderdale’s friend from their college days at Harvard, joined the group the following year, and the first song they wrote together, “Sympathique” (Je ne veus pas travailler), became an overnight sensation in France, where it remains a mantra (“Je ne veux pas travailler” translates to “I don’t want to work”) for striking French workers. Politics continues to be a focal point for the band, as both Lauderdale and Pink Martini lend their voice to progressive causes.    

Throughout their history, on record and live in concert, Pink Martini has featured a dozen musicians with songs in 25 languages, and they perform their multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout the world. Pink Martini’s albums have collectively sold over 3 million copies worldwide, all on the band’s own label, Heinz Records.