Perla Batalla Brings the Songs of Leonard Cohen to Thousand Oaks

Grammy-nominated vocalist, composer and arranger Perla Batalla, whose repertoire cuts across genre and language brings her vocal prowess to the intimate Scherr Forum Theatre, Saturday, October 22, 2016 at 7:30 pm.

Perla Batalla returns to the Scherr Forum performing song from her CD release, Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.

"For me it's personal, "said Batalla. "Having sung with Leonard for years, his songs feel as though they've become part of my make up, his poetic imagery can be at once surgically precise and yet so ambiguous as to be open to unlimited interpretation."

The Los Angeles-born singer-songwriter Batalla was immersed in the musical world from birth; her father, a Mexican singer, her Argentine mother, the proprietor of a bustling Spanish language music store. Batalla started her solo career in 1993, after working with artists ranging from Cohen and k.d. lang to the Gipsy Kings and Jennifer Warnes. Batalla joined Cohen as a back up singer for his world tour in 1988. Cohen quickly became a mentor to the young Batalla, eventually encouraging her to pursue her own solo career.

Batalla launched a solo career with the release of her 1993 album Perla Batalla on Warner/Discovery. Since then Batalla has released several albums, including Discoteca Batalla (2002), a compilation of new songs interspersed with Spanish language classics, and the acclaimed Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen.

Single tickets are priced at $39 - $29 with group discounts available. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000, online atwww.ticketmaster.com, or through the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office, located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard. For more information call 805-449-ARTS (2787) or visit www.civicartsplaza.com.