During our 2024 Fest-o-Matic series, we featured a late-night Cumbia and Samba night that was one of the highlights of the weekend, with a great crowd dancing to Los Cumbia Stars from Columbia in the wee hours of the morning.  We had so much fun we decided to do it again! 
 
This year we welcome 2 psychedelic cumbia acts starting at 2am on Thursday April 24th (technically early Friday morning).  Here in New Orleans we are lucky to have the incredible band Gitkin, who will begin the night with his mixture of desert blues, psychedelic cumbia, middle eastern funk, reverb drenched guitar and killer Latin American rhythms!  After producing artists such as Cedric Burnside, Bernard Purdie, and Cyril Neville as well as masterminding the funk ensemble Pimps of Joytime, Gitkin bandleader Brian J is now focusing on his Gitkin project with his trio featuring Palestinian musician Simon Moushabeck (keyboard, accordion, percussion) and Cuban American Washington Duke (Drums).  Their music will transport you to another time and place!
 
The second act of the Cumbia show will be Money Chicha, an Austin, Texas based group featuring members of the Grammy-award winning Latin orchestra Grupo Fantasma and its offshoot funk outfit Brownout which performs a fuzzed-out, reverb-drenched and percussion-heavy style of music inspired by the sounds of Peru and Colombia in the 60’s and 70’s. This style of music, sometimes called “Chicha” music, is known for its infectious Latin beat, its psychedelic, surf guitar pyrotechnics and its melodies influenced by the indigenous culture of the Andes mountains.  Money Chicha is a modern translation of this South American musical style interpreted by highly skilled veterans. In their capable hands the “Chicha” genre takes on a new and unique character, guaranteed to move one to both dance and listen, entranced by the undeniable rhythms and virtuosic displays of musicality. 
 
Get your tickets now and be ready to dance and celebrate the joys of Cumbia music!