Sign up for our newsletters Subscribe
I was more than pleasantly surprised when I saw this year’s lineup. Surprisingly, it was put together by a non-Latino—Barry Dolins, a fixture at the Mayor’s Office of Special Events who’s best known for booking the Blues Festival—and despite the tough economic climate, he's assembled a wonderfully rich and varied program. In this week’s paper I write about the Dominican Republic's queen of merengue típico, La India Canela, but she’s not the only highlight.
Performing on Saturday night is Colombia’s Aterciopelados (pictured), one of the most consistently original and accomplished Latino rock bands over the past decade and a half. Popular Mexican-American folk-pop-jazz singer Lila Downs was tapped to headline on Sunday night, though she canceled this week due to a ruptured appendix; she's been replaced by sophisticated rocker Javier Garcia).
Chicago’s own Banda Manzanera, a joyous, subtly innovative banda ensemble, also plays the main stage on Sunday. On Saturday the fest hosts a promising tribute to Manny Oquendo’s Conjunto Libre by a cast of all-star New York salseros including trombonist Jimmy Bosch, bassist Andy Gonzalez, singer and percussionist Frankie Vazquez, and singer Herman Olivera. Other performers represent styles from Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Here’s hoping Dolins, or someone with a similar vision, stays in charge.
Today’s playlist:
Ikue Mori, Labyrinth (Tzadik)
Marta Gomez, Entre Cada Palabra (Chesky)
Humvee, Humvee (Jazzland)
Black Dice, Repo (Paw Tracks)
Sophia Domancich, William Parker, and Hamid Drake, Washed Away (Marge)
Comments