Nano Stern
“Nano Stern is the best Chilean singer-songwriter of his generation, with his lyrics, melodies, message, humor and heart.”
Joan Baez
Armed with his virtuoso guitar and his staggering vocals, Nano Stern embraces concerts as if they were rituals. His performances take you on a journey in which the folk roots from his native Chile are combined with contemporary sounds to create a unique musical experience.
“At times with his violin but more often with his guitar, Stern astonished the audience so much, that by the end of the show, he received a double standing ovation.”
La Prensa, Panamá
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Praised by folk legend Joan Baez as ‘the best young Chilean songwriter of his generation’, and ‘ a festival director's dream’ (Bill Hauritz, Woodford Festival Founder & Director, Australia), and ‘the face and voice of a whole new chapter of the Nueva Cancion Chilena’ (La Nacion, Argentina), Nano Stern stands out as one of the most important Chilean musicians of his time, with a recording career spanning ten years that includes five award winning and critically acclaimed solo albums.
In 2024, Nano will promote his 9th studio recording Aún creo en la belleza [I still believe in beauty]. With this album Stern searches for the simple and the subtle in the service of poetry made song. Amid a turbulent world, Nano builds a refuge of words and sounds that reflect the worries and calmness of the intense times in which we live.
This past year, as the world commemorated 50 years since the coup d’état in Chile, Nano Stern revisited the songs of legendary folk singer Víctor Jara with the release Nano Stern Canta A Víctor Jara and tours throughout Europe, North and South America. He also published Décimas del Estallido (a chronicle in Verse of the Chilean Rebellion), produced the documentary "En Septiembre Canta el Gallo” (with Luis Emilio Briceño), that portrays the generation of young people who revolutionized Chilean song from 1958 to 1973; and, with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción, premiered and recorded his first symphonic work “…Hará brotar el momento”.
Nano Stern is a contemporary Latin American roots artist based in Chile. His musical virtuosity, mesmerizing and charismatic live performances, his passionate and poetic advocacy for social justice result in a true and honest universal message, delivered with intense energy and a high level of musicality.
Stern is an accomplished musician, playing a range of instruments from Spanish guitars and violin to the Andean and Nordic flutes. Not to be underrated is the power and emotion that emanates from his vocal prowess and his intimate and rousing connection to his audiences, at home in Chile and around the world. He has performed and captivated audiences in countless venues and festivals internationally often collaborating with legendary artists. His appearance with Joan Baez at the Beacon Theatre (her 75th anniversary concert recorded and aired for PBS Great Performances) “As he [Stern] and Ms. Baez sang it [Gracias a la Vida], 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.” (New York Times).
Stern’s contagious personal energy and his fluency in multiple languages allows Nano to warmly include his international audiences in the stories of his Spanish songs.
August 2024
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“their [Stern & Baez] 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.“
Stephen Holden, New York Times“The cherubic and charismatic Chilean singer-songwriter, assisted by two long-time amigos, had a packed throng in thrall from the get-go with his passion, panache and well-directed political pronouncements. At one stage he changed an errant guitar lead in the blink of an eye.”
Tony Hillier, Rhythms Music Magazine, Womadelaide 2018“… The prodigiously talented Nano Stern represents a new generation of Chilean musicians who is making an enormous contribution to Chilean music … an explosive opening set ”
Raul da Gama, World Music Report, Toronto, Canada 2017“When you see him live, it’s very easy to understand the reason for his dazzling career.” —Jorge Drexler, Uruguay
“Nano Stern is the face and voice of a whole new chapter of the Nueva Cancion Chilena.” —La Nacion, Argentina
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With Symphony
Nano Stern composed and premiered his first symphonic composition with the Concepcion Orchestra in Chile in September 2023, in conjunction with the commemoration of the 50 years since the military coup.The composition,“Hará brotar el momento” was inspired by the legendary Victor Jara’s last poem written just before he was murdered.
Nano creates a work in which the ancient roots of Chilean folk music are reimagined in a contemporary context, fusing archaic melodies with modern harmonic treatments and syncopated Latin-American rhythms with immersive contrapuntal passages.
In addition, Nano offers symphonic arrangements of songs by Violeta Parra, Patricio Manns, Fernando Cabrera, Eduardo Gatti, Victor Jara, Mazapán and Nano Stern.
Other Collaborations
Nano Stern with Ensemble La Misola performing songs from the Spanish Renaissance, released Mas Vale Trocar in 2022Nano Stern & Simon Gonzalez record an orchestral homage to Congreso: Ya es Tiempo, released in 2020 [Simon is the son of founding member Sergio ‘Tilo’ Gonzalez]
Nano Stern with Mattias Perez, one of Sweden’s premier folk musicians, recorded Otonal in 2009
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A Journey Through the Music of the World
By Nano Stern
Discover the cultural routes that have shaped the different sound traditions of the planet with Nano Stern. This is a course of eight 60-minute lessons. It explores the musical diversity of human culture around the globe, focusing on historical, geographical, linguistic and other cultural aspects that allow for a general understanding of the different musical traditions that have developed, and the relations between them.A Journey Through the Music of the World
Nano Stern Talks Life on Tour and Musical Traditions
By Berklee OnlineIn May 2018 Nano Stern stopped by Berklee Online to lay some music, discuss life on tour, and talk about musical traditions from Latin America. It is a series of 4 videos:
1- Life on Tour
2- “Festejo de Color”
3- Conveying Culture in Songwriting
4- “Punta de Lanza”
“The spirit of the late Victor Jara and Violeta Parra hovers over the singer songwriter as he digs deep
into his inner worlds and landscapes. Aesthetic beauty abounds, musically and poetically.”
Rhythms Magazine, Albums: World Music Folk
EN SEPTIEMBRE CANTA EL GALLO - We’ll be Singing by September
the documentary that humanizes the ‘Nueva Canción’ movement in Chile
"En Septiembre Canta el Gallo” is a documentary by Nano Stern and Luis Emilio Briceño in which music, poetry, archive images and animation join extensive new testimonies from a wide array of musicians who were active in Chile before and during the socialist government of Salvador Allende. It portrays the generation of young people who revolutionized Chilean song from 1958 to 1973. The film sheds light on the bonds that emerged between culture and politics, as well as the processes that gave birth to new forms of musical expression that included a strong social conscience.
50 years on, the protagonists of the time share their memories, anecdotes, and insights into one of the most vibrant and creative periods of the history of Latin America. Book a screening for your audience.
TRAILER
El Pimiento, Victor Jara
Nano Stern Canta A Victor Jara
In 2023, when the world commemorated 50 years since the coup d’etat in Chile, Nano Stern revisited the songs of legendary folk singer Victor Jara with the release of “Nano Stern Canta A Victor Jara”.
Refugio : Nominated for Album of the Year - 2026
Nano Stern's critically acclaimed record "Refugio" (2025) is an official nominee for Album of the Year at the 2026 Premios Pulsar, Chile’s most prestigious music awards. It was recorded live at EastSide Sound studios in Manhattan, the album beautifully blends Latin American roots music with jazz. It features intimate, reflective songwriting about themes like heartbreak and the search for shelter, and includes stellar guest vocals by renowned jazzist Claudia Acuña.
