Chilean star Nano Stern’s passion translates across cultures, at BlueShore at CapU October 10
A boost by Joan Baez helped push the beloved singer and multi-instrumentalist’s music around the world
Nano Stern.
Nano Stern performs at BlueShore at CapU on October 10
CHILEAN SINGER-SONGWRITER Nano Stern is a rock star in his home country, regularly playing to the masses at its Lollapalooza.
Here in North America, his name didn’t really start to take off until folk matriarch Joan Baez invited him to sing a song with her onstage for a rendition of Argentine legend Mercedes Sosa’s “Gracias a la Vida” for her 75th birthday concert in 2016. “As he and Ms. Baez sang it, their performance generated the kind of lightning you might have experienced at a joyful ’60s hootenanny when everything seemed possible and hope was in the air,” The New York Times raved at the time—capturing the charisma and passion for social justice that makes the multi-instrumentalist so beloved.
It’s important to note that the Argentine anthem was written by Violeta Parra, leader of the 1960s’ New Song movement that reinvigorated Chile’s folk music with strong political themes. Stern draws inspiration from those musical revolutionaries—his indelible “El Pimiento”, seen in the music video below, pays tribute to Víctor Jara, another leader in New Song (one whose life was cut short during 1973’s military coup). But Stern is also blazing a new path forward, blending his years of classical and jazz training with elements of Indigenous, African, European, and Latin music that make his powerful sound distinct from other South American artists. His latest album, I Still Believe in Beauty, pushes his words and music even further.
Never mind the fact that he’ll pull out and play a range of instruments over his evening at BlueShore at CapU: a violin, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, violin, and Andean and Nordic flutes, to name a few.
But it’s really his soulful voice and his stories that draw audiences, across cultures, close. It’s a kind of feeling you can’t fake—with messages that resonate in divided times, far beyond South America. 
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