Rufus and Martha Wainwright’s “A Not So Silent Night”

The shows are a Wainwright/McGarrigle family Christmas tradition that have their deepest roots with the sisters Kate, Anna, and Jane McGarrigle singing Christimas carols and songs with their father Frank and mother Gaby in Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts. They grew into almost annual concerts in New York, Montreal, Los Angeles, Nashville or London. For this special show, Rufus and Martha are joined by special guests for an evening of the holiday spirit.

When Kate was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, she began raising money and awareness for funding research into sarcoma as there were no drugs available to treat the cancer that she had. In December 2009 she performed her last concert, the family Christmas show at a sold out Royal Albert Hall in London. More than 5000 people attended this show that had a star-studded guest line up ranging from French and Saunders, to Guy Garvey, Boy George, Brian Eno, Linda Thompson, Peter Gabriel among family members Lucy Wainwright Roche, Sloan Wainwright, Anna and Jane McGarrigle and others. No one in the audience remained untouched by the heightened emotion of the evening.

For this occasion Kate had written a heartbreaking new song called “Proserpina” that tells the story of Hera bemoaning the loss of her daughter Proserpina who married Hades and lived with him for half of the year in the underworld only to return to her mother in the spring and summer bringing warmth and light. It mirrored Kate’s own situation knowing she was to leave this world soon but also her daughter Martha was bound to remain in London not being able to come home to her moth after the premature birth of her son Arcangelo.

Rufus and Martha continued the legacy of Kate and dedicated themselves to raising awareness and money for Sarcoma research with these shows. Shortly after she passed they launched the Kate McGarrigle Foundation for Sarcoma Research that has since turned into the Kate McGarrigle Fund with SU2C and EIF, two powerful American and Canadian not for profit organizations who are dedicated to helping Rufus and Martha grow the impact of their work fighting sarcoma and furthering also the artistic legacy of their mother Kate.

Rufus, Martha and all special guests are donating their services – all profits from these concerts will go towards the Kate McGarrigle Fund supporting sarcoma research and a music therapy program for cancer patients to be launched by Martha Wainwright in conjunction with Stand Up 2 Cancer Canada.

Read more about the Kate McGarrigle Fund

Donate to the Kate McGarrigle Fund

SPECIAL EXPERIENCES OFFERED TO HELP RAISE ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE KATE MCGARRIGLE FUND.

Packages available upon purchase at venue sites:

Dublin | London

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[su_spoiler title=”Choir Experience” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]Join Rufus, Martha, the family and the special guests on the stage for “Proserpina”, the most iconic closing song of the evening. Kate wrote “Proserpina” in the weeks before her last appearance at the Christmas show at the Royal Albert Hall on December 9th, 2009 . It talks about Proserpina, the daughter of Hera, and wife of Hades, the God of the Underworld. Proserpina spends half of her life with her husband in the underworld and the other half she returns to the natural world, bringing spring with her. Each year, Hera mourns the loss of her daughter to the underworld, a reflection of the tragic circumstances around the premature birth of Martha’s firstborn son in London that prevented her from travelling home to her dying mother.

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[su_spoiler title=”Soundcheck Experience” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]Join Rufus, Martha and the family at one of the rehearsals in the days prior to the show in the rehearsal space. There is no more intimate way of experiencing the magic of the holidays and these shows than to be present at rehearsals. Be there for a three-hour session as songs are rehearsed, harmonies and back-up vocals tried out, band arrangements developed. Opportunity for pictures during one of the rehearsal breaks.
This experience also includes the full runthrough on the day of the show.

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[su_spoiler title=”Rehearsal space and soundcheck experience” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]

Join Rufus, Martha and the family at one of the rehearsals in the days prior to the show in the rehearsal space. There is no more intimate way of experiencing the magic of the holidays and these shows than to be present at rehearsals. Be there for a two hour session as songs are rehearsed, harmonies and back-up vocals tried out, band arrangements developed. Opportunity for pictures during one of the rehearsal breaks.

This experience also includes the full soundcheck on the day of the show.

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[su_spoiler title=”Aftershow Party Experience” open=”no” style=”default” icon=”plus” anchor=”” class=””]Join Rufus, Martha, the family and special guests for the exclusive aftershow cocktail celebration. Get a chance to congratulate them personally after the show in a more relaxed environment than the stage door. Show that you are a true fan by supporting the causes of the Kate McGarrigle Fund of supporting sarcoma research and the new music therapy program for cancer patients developed and lead by Martha with SU2C Canada.

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