Singer-Songwriter of "Sugar Man" and the secret international success

LOS ANGELES, July 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Rodriguez, the lost legend from Detroit who unknowingly became an international folk hero, an anti-apartheid protest icon and subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, returns to the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA this August 25, 2018 at 8 pm. 

Although Rodriguez remained relatively unknown in the US, by the mid-1970s his albums gained significant airplay in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, South Africa, and Zimbabwe without him even knowing it. 

In 1991, both albums After the Fact and At His Best were released in South Africa for the first time, which helped preserve his fame. However, few details of his life were known to his fans and it was incorrectly rumored that he had killed himself during a concert in the 1970s. 

Despite his success abroad, Rodriguez's fame in South Africa had remained unknown to him until 1997 when his eldest daughter came across a website dedicated to him as reported by The Guardian.

After contacting the fan site and learning of his fame in the country, Rodriguez went on his first South African tour, playing six concerts before thousands of fans for the first time. With his new-found international celebrity status, Rodriguez had found commercial success for the album he produced four decades earlier. 

In 2013, Searching for Sugar Man, a film about Rodriguez's secret success won Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards. Rodriguez declined to attend the award ceremony as he did not want to overshadow the filmmaker's achievement. 

"That just about says everything about that man and his story that you want to know," said Simon Chinn, the film's producer, about Rodriguez's absence during his acceptance speech. 

Vera Sola, a poet, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, opens for Rodriguez. Vera Sola has toured and recorded with a variety of artists, for a long while accompanying singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins on the road. She has in turn collaborated on film scores and provided original music for theater and performance art.

Tickets for the show are available online at Ticketmaster and via the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA's Box Office by calling 323-343-6600.

ABOUT THE LUCKMAN

The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA presents cutting-edge professional music, dance, theatre, and visual arts from around the world to the Los Angeles community. Located just five miles east of downtown, the Luckman is home to three unique spaces: The Luckman Theatre with a capacity of nearly 1,200, the Intimate Theatre with modular seating of up to 300, and the 3,600 square foot Luckman Gallery.

CALENDAR POSTING 

Who: Rodriguez 
When: Saturday, August 25, 2018 at 8 pm
Where: The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA

RELATED LINKS

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SOURCE Luckman Fine Arts Complex