Bill Murray is coming to serenade Edinburgh

The much-loved actor will be joined by German cellist Jan Vogler for their project in which Murray sings and reads American classics accompanied by a classical trio of musicians

Article by Jamie Dunn | 26 Mar 2018

Bill Murray is a comedy institution. From Saturday Night Live to Stripes, Ghostbusters to Groundhog Day, via his work with some of America’s finest indie filmmakers (Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch), Murray the comic actor is the gift that keeps on giving. And now, at age 67, Murray is having a go at music.

Working with German cellist Jan Vogler, last year Murray created the album New World, on which the actor sings songs from Gershwin and Stephen Foster and reads passages from the likes of Whitman, Hemingway and Twain over music by Schubert, Bach, and Piazzolla. He's accompanied by a classical trio of Vogler on cello along with Mira Wang on violin and Vanessa Perez on piano.

“I met Jan traveling back and forth from Berlin," Murray told us when we spoke to him about Isle of Dogs last month. Reportedly they struck up a conversation at an airport around Vogler's carry-on luggage. "Bill started making comments on my cello," Vogler told NPR. "I think he was a little surprised that I was trying to carry that huge baggage into the aeroplane." 

"After seeing each other’s stuff for a bit,” Murray told us, “and getting to know each other, we said, 'Why don’t we make a show?' And Jan basically came up with this idea that I'd read some things – he’d see me read poetry – I sing. They’re so talented [referring to Vogler, Wang and Perez], it’s kind of a powerful little show.”

Murray, Vogler, Wang and Perez played live a handful of times in Germany last year and will soon begin their tour across the US, before heading to Europe with two dates in the UK: at the Royal Festival Hall in London and Festival Theatre in Edinburgh (18 Jun).

Want a taster of what to expect? Last year a fan captured the actor’s singing skills when Murray and co. appeared at the Dresden Music Festival in Germany. The clip features Murray performing Van Morrison's classic When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God, and he can really belt it out. Murray is clearly having a whale of a time: "I am bathing in this experience, really," he says. "I can’t get enough of it." Take a look at the clip below:

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Tickets for Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: New Worlds are on sale 29 Mar at livenation.co.uk. UK dates below:

4 Jun, London, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
18 Jun, Edinburgh, Festival Theatre