Ninet steps in for Steven Wilson as he loses voice at NY gig

The Israeli rocker, who shot to fame as the first winner of the A Star Is Born TV talent show, back in 2003, had around half an hour to get a handle on Wilson’s vocal slots.

By BARRY DAVIS
Updated: MARCH 9, 2016 22:32
Ninet Tayeb (photo credit: RAFI DELOYA)
Ninet Tayeb
(photo credit: RAFI DELOYA)
British rocker Steven Wilson is due to wow a no-doubt sellout crowd at the Zappa Shuni Amphitheater in Binyamina on May 7, and the frontman of the British prog rock band Porcupine Tree has already had a good trial run with his guest artist for the Israeli gig, Ninet Tayeb (aka Ninet).
Last Saturday, Wilson took the stage of the Beacon Theater in New York, with the jammed-packed audience expecting to hear the singer- songwriter blast out some cuts off his 2015 release Hand. Cannot. Erase. and the new 4 ½. Instead they heard an announcement over the PA that, for the first time in his two-decade career, 48-year-old Wilson had lost his voice and would be unable to sing. The lead singer role was then entrusted to the tour’s backup and duet singer Ninet, who performs on both the aforementioned records.
The Israeli rocker, who shot to fame as the first winner of the A Star Is Born TV talent show, back in 2003, had around half an hour to get a handle on Wilson’s vocal slots and, by all accounts, did the Brit proud.
Wilson, who has performed here several times, and collaborated with Aviv Gefen as part of the Blackfield band should be back in full vocal fettle by the time he gets here, and with Ninet’s international public profile ratcheted up several notches, the Shuni gig should be an occasion to remember.