Austin Vida

You are here: Home / Archives for Latin music

Latin music

[6/30] Preview: Austin Vida presents Bombasta, 2Rock & Ex Machina at Frontier Bar

By

Austin Vida is doing it big this summer with a monthly residency at Frontier Bar, the newest Eastside hot spot. We are presenting three summer showcases at Frontier Bar featuring the “barrio big band” from San Antonio, Bombasta. The first one happens this Saturday, June 30.

Co-headlining Saturday’s showcase will be Austin indie-psych band Ex Machina. Their music blends elements of psychedelic rock, reggae, progressive and indie. With their recent addition of a keyboard player, their live sound if much fuller than their early recordings we first heard.  Fronted by the often masked Blas Moreno, the group is a name Austin music fans will be familiar with soon. Ex Machina perform at 11 p.m.

No stranger to Austin, our headliner Bombasta is San Antonio’s answer to bands like Ozomatli, Locos Por Juana or El Gran Silencio. Their music is a fusion of hip hop, reggae, funk and traditional Latin rhythms. Their socially conscious lyrics represent their hometown vibe that can be appreciated by all. The best part is you can dance to all of it and they put on one of the best live shows we’ve experienced. Bombasta perform at midnight.

Austin-based rock en Español band 2Rock opens the showcase. Frontier Bar is located at 2421 Webberville Rd. Doors open at 9 p.m. 21+ are welcome. $5 cover. Visit the event page on Facebook here. “Like” our event page on Do512 here for your chance to win a pair of free tickets. For those in attendance, hang out as a $20 bar tab will be raffled off. The person whose name is called must be present to win.

[4/14] Preview: Festival de Cumbia at Flamingo Cantina

By

Festival de Cumbia poster
Festival de Cumbia poster

Cumbia is at the heart of many of Texas’ Latino bands and musicians. Whether it is South American cumbia or Mexican cumbia heard in popular norteño music, it seems everyone has incorporated the style into their own musical fusions—cumbia-rock, reggae-cumbia, psychedelic cumbia, electro-cumbia, etc. The simple, beautiful and danceable rhythm is being celebrated with the inaugural Festival de Cumbia en la Capital at Flamingo Cantina on April 14 by some of the region’s best Latin bands.

Six bands, all headliners in their own right, take the stage beginning at 8 p.m. with Austin’s La Frenetika. Urban Tejano group Cinco Doce from Austin follow and then Bombasta, San Antonio’s “barrio big band, ” perform at 10. Rounding out the night’s bill are the Austin-based reggae-cumbia fusion group El Tule at 11, Grupo Varonil at midnight and Fort Worth’s Quimikoz Del Son at 1 a.m.

Flamingo Cantina is located at 515 E. 6th St. Ages 21 and up are welcome. Doors open at 7 p.m. $10 cover. Visit the event page on Facebook here and on Do512 here. Cuuummmbbiiiaaa!

Download: “Democrazy” mp3 by Congo Sanchez

By

Congo Sanchez Vol. 1

Starting as a drummer in Washington, D.C., was the beginning for Congo Sanchez, who collaborated with the Empresarios on their EP Bestia, Funk Ark’s album From the Rooftops and Thievery Corporation’s Culture of Fear. Known for mixing Afro-Cuban beats and Haitian rhythms, Sanchez built a home studio where he takes all the blends of music he’s worked on to make it his own.

Now, Sanchez is ready to debut his unique sound of Afro-Latin dub on Congo Sanchez: Vol. 1, out April 17 via ESL Music. With the exceptions of the violins played by Karen Joy McCoy on “Democrazy” and the horn section from Ikebe Shakedown on “T.E.T.O. (strut),” Sanchez produced and plays everything heard on the album, adding just enough keyboard texture and percussion to create an earthy vibe.

Listen  to “Democrazy” below and download from the SoundCloud player directly.

Watch: Money Chicha live at Mohawk

By

If you follow Latino music happenings in Austin, you may have come across an unfamiliar name in recent weeks: Money Chicha. They’re a newish band, only having played two shows before 2012. But they’ve played a string of recent shows and have more on the way, along with an album in the works.

Though new, the group is composed of familiar faces, specifically Grupo Fantasma’s rhythm section and one-two guitar punch. Guitarists Beto Martinez and Adrian Quesada take turns trading fiery, psychedelic guitar solos, while bassist Greg Gonzalez and percussionist Sweet Lou hold it down. We filmed Money Chicha last year as they blazed through chicha (Peruvian cumbia) standards, including “A Patricia” and “Cumbia de los pajaritos.” This set featured Maneja Beto frontman Alex Chavez on keys, making the set that much more special.

Catch Money Chicha this Wednesday at Sahara Lounge. More info at Do512.

(2/24) Preview: Este Vato, Money Chicha, Peligrosa at Frontier Bar

By

Frontier Bar is a new live music bar located in East Austin. Its doors opened in July to a diverse array of musical genres and performers. Tonight, Frontier will feature a Gran Sonido Music Group showcase with local bands Money Chicha and Este Vato, for a great night of Latin music.

Money Chicha is Austin’s first chicha group, according to the band’s bio. As the music gurus at Barbès Records put it, chicha is Peruvian-based, “western-influenced indigenous music geared toward the new urban masses who wholly identified with the new hybrid. Chicha is at once raw and sophisticated.”  What’s even cooler is the guys behind Money Chicha are the same guys behind Grupo Fantasma, Brownout and Ocote Soul Sounds. What else do you need to know?

Austin-based Latin fusion group Este Vato are Austin’s answer to Ozomatli. Their music blends elements of rock, conscious hip hop, electronica and of course traditional Latin rhythms. The group has performed with many great Latino artists including a recent opening spot for Molotov. Este Vato are currently performing after taking a short break from play in support of their latest release, The Morningside EP.

Peligrosa is a Latin music DJ collective based here in Austin. Led by DJ Orion,  their monthly parties and individual DJ gigs have made the guys well known all over town. They are loved by hipsters and Latinos from all walks of life. They’ll be spinning throughout the night.

Listen to Este Vato’s Morningside EP below.

Frontier Bar is located at 2421 Webberville Rd.  Cover is $7.  21+ are welcome. Visit the official Facebook event page here and on Do512 here.

Austin Ticket Giveaway: Grupo Fantasma “Live Album Taping” at Beauty Ballroom

By

The good folks over at Beauty Ballroom, Austin’s latest venue to move and get a facelift on East Riverside, are presenting two nights of Grupo Fantasma this weekend. Two nights of Austin’s biggest and baddest Latin band will surely make for an incredible weekend. The beautiful 700-capacity venue has two levels and a bingo hall across the street.

This Saturday and Sunday’s live performances will be recorded live for the group’s live album and video to be released at a later date. Special guests, new songs, old favorites, and other surprises await attendees.

The best part? We have a pair of tickets to giveaway to a couple of our lucky Austin Vida readers, one pair per show.  We will be giving away both pair of tickets this Friday, February 17,  on our Facebook page. To qualify to win, just click LIKE whenever you see the link to this post on our Facebook Wall. Yes, that means you can enter your name more than once. We will draw the winning name on Friday, the day before the show, and notify the winner via Facebook email. Good luck!

Watch Grupo Fantasma perform “Soltero” live below.

The Beauty Ballroom is located at 2015 East Riverside Dr. Advance tickets are available for each show or only $15 for both nights. Doors open at 8:00pm on Saturday and on 6:00pm on Sunday. 18+ are welcome on Saturday and Sunday’s show is all ages. For more information, please visit the Beauty Ballroom website here. Visit the event page on Facebook here and on Do512 here.

Becker Elementary School presents first Pachanga Dance Party

By

In elementary school, students spend the day learning a little bit of this and that with an occasional party thrown in. But when that day came, oh it was glorious. Students eagerly waited for the educational part of the day to be over so they could indulge in all the food that was brought. And in a single file line, each student grabbed as much food to make their heart content or make them sick to their stomach.

That’s a typical elementary school party, but things are different at the exemplary Becker Elementary School. They don’t have parties. They have pachangas and not just for students but for everyone. With the help of the community, the school will celebrate their First Annual Pachanga Dance Party featuring music by Grammy award-winning Adrian Quesada of Grupo Fantasma, dance performances by Esquina Tango and Escuelita Dance and a photo booth by Fun Loving Photos. Latin inspired dishes provided by Thrice Café/Thai Fresh along with face painting, crafts and other activities makes this an unbelievable family night not to be missed.

All the fun at the First Annual Pachanga Dance Party starts Friday Feb. 10 from 5-8:30 p.m. at Becker Elementary School located at 906 W. Milton St. The event is free and open to everyone.

(1/20) Preview: El Tule, Os Alquimistas & Cinco Doce at Frank

By

On Friday, January 20, Frank will host a great night of Latin music. The popular restaurant is a great live music venue by night and is a great supporter of local Latin music. Friday night’s showcase includes three great bands with different sounds all rooted in Austin.

Os Alquimistas open the night at 10:30pm with their traditional Brazilian rhythms mixed with good ole’ funk. We first saw Os Alquimistas at Xemumba Fest in 2009 and began following the band when they were a regular performer at the Momo’s World Music Night series in 2010.  The band has opened for  Grupo Fantasma  and other greats while occasionally featuring a horn section. Show up early to check out Os Alquimistas and get lost in the sounds of Brazil.

Austin-based El Tule follow Os Alquimistas to keep things moving. El Tule’s music blends elements of salsa, rock, reggae, cumbia and jazz. The band is currently in the studio working on their follow up to their latest albumVol. II, conveniently titled Vol III. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on new developments. El Tule perform at 11:15pm.

Headlining the night’s showcase is Austin-based Urban Tejano band Cinco Doce. The group was founded by Valente Aguirre, Francisco “Cisco” Aguirre, Edward “Buck” Aguirre, Josh Gauna, Jesse “Jay” Moya and Thomas Diaz. Their music blends elements of traditional Tejano with R&B, hip hop and reggaeton. The band is performing in support of their debut they are currently in the studio recording. Cinco Doce perform at 12:00am.

Watch Cinco Doce perform “Cinco Doce Vete De Aquí” below.

Frank is located at 407 Colorado Street. Doors open at 9:30pm. Cover is $6.  All ages are welcome. Visit the official Facebook event page here and on Do512 here.