Event Calendar
A Night of Argentine Tango & Folk Music with María Volonté & Friends
Friday, July 28, 2017, 7:30 pm
PERFORMING IN THE RODALE COMMUNITY ROOM
Join us for a night of intense, passionate music from Argentina. These two award-winning bands led by women are shaking up the traditional music of the city (tango) and the music of the Argentine countryside (folklore) with their original compositions. Argentine Latin Grammy nominee María Volonté and Kevin Carrel Footer, harmonica, explore the crossroads of tango and blues with special guests Mavi Diaz & Las Folkies (Mavi Diaz - vocals and guitar, Silvana Albano - piano/keyboards, Martina Ulrich - percussion, and Pampi Torre - guitar) with their original compositions, feminine point of view and electrifying live performances.
Come early (doors open at 6) for pre-concert tango lesson. Dance floor will be available for tango dancers and Argentine folk dancers throughout the concert and afterwards for a Milonga (tango social dance). Light fare and cash bar available.
Hailing from the colorful and gritty La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Blue Tango Project is a ground-breaking exploration of the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace. It is a collaboration between Argentine Latin Grammy nominee María Volonté and California harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer.
María Volonté is an Argentine singer and songwriter who is a Carlos Gardel Prize winner (Argentina’s Grammy), a member of the Tango Hall of Fame and has won the "Best Tango Album" prize. Since then she has gone on to explore the crossroads of tango and blues with her Blue Tango Project at SXSW, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series and at venues around the world.
Kevin Carrel Footer is an artist deeply inspired by the intense passions of tango and Buenos Aires. In words, images and music, he explores those twin passions in unexpected ways.
Playing harmonica, he tours the world with the Blue Tango Project alongside Argentine Latin Grammy-nominee María Volonté.
What the press has to say:
“Volonte has a long history in Argentine traditional music, and its elements enriched everything she played and sang. But, far more than just an emissary for her native country’s music, she demonstrated a desire, as well as a skill, in using those roots to grow an entrancing creative expression that is uniquely her own.” - Los Angeles Times
“Maria Volonté is an intriguingly versatile and original Argentinian singer and songwriter who has been nominated for a Latin Grammy… She can mix an intimate treatment of tango classics by the great Astor Piazzolla… with echoes of late-night jazz and Latin-blues fusion. She has a cool, emotional style, plays impressive acoustic guitar, and is willing to experiment.” - The Guardian
BLUE TANGO PROJECT
Special Guests Mavi Díaz & Las Folkies are on their first US tour.
Lead by Argentine musical powerhouse Mavi Díaz, the band Mavi Díaz & Las Folkies is reinvigorating the rich folk traditions of Argentina with their original compositions, feminine point of view and electrifying live performances.
This all-female band is deeply steeped in the Argentine folk tradition. Daughter of harmonica virtuoso Hugo Diaz, Mavi was surrounded by the best music from an early age. A pop star in her twenties as a founding member of the path-breaking group Viuda e Hijas de Roque Enroll, Mavi went on to an illustrious career as a performer, composer and vocal arranger.
After many years living and working in Spain, Mavi returned to Argentina and to her roots in the folk music of her country. She founded the band Mavi Diaz & Las Folkies in 2010 to explore new expressive possibilities within the venerable Argentine folk tradition.
“Sonqoy,” the band’s debut album, was nominated for the Gardel Award 2011 as Best New Folk Album. The band’s second album “Todo Si!” won the 2016 Gardel Prize (Argentina’s Grammy) for Best Alternative Folk Album.
The band’s energetic live performances have received standing ovations at important music festivals in Argentina and around the world.