Pandemic is rounding out its 12th year and entering 13 with a bang-up lineup. On Aug 3 we welcome Radio Jarocho playing traditional son jarocho music from Veracruz, Mexico with special guest dj Mateo Mattos.
Radio Jarocho plays the rowdy, upbeat, and at times melancholic music of the countryside of Veracruz, Mexico, and has been mixing it with the sounds of New York’s urban life for over ten years. Having recently joined forces with son jarocho legend Zenen Zeferino, they deliver performances that are passionate, energetic, and true to the roots of the genre. Radio Jarocho & Zenen Zeferino have played concerts at festivals and venues in the east coast, including Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Bowl, Joe’s Pub, La Casita at Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, Celebrate Mexico Now! and Celebrate Brooklyn. They are gearing up to release “Rios de Norte y Sur”, their first studio production together. With this album, Radio Jarocho & Zenen Zeferino celebrate the music that unites Veracruz and New York, Mexico and the United States through original songs and new arrangements for old jarocho tunes, offering a modern take on a traditional genre by fusing it with sounds that have become part of New York City’s musical fabric — flamenco, cumbia, rock, baroque, and jazz. “Rios de Norte y Sur” will be available in May 2018.
In September we are back with an Afrobeat Special featuring Keleta and Super Yamba Band at Brillobox. Afroheat’s DJ SMI and resident Pandemic Pete playing tunes all night long.
Kaleta & Super Yamba Band Afropop Worldwide said “their ace-up-the-sleeve: the singer Kaleta, whose James Brown grunts have got to be some of the best in the business.” Brooklyn Afro-Funksters Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by legendary Afrobeat veteran Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. Kaleta.
King Coya, danceable alter ego of Gaby Kerpel (De La Guarda, Fuerza Bruta) a pioneer of folklore fused with electronic music, brings a powerful live performance together with the dance troupe “Queen Cholas”. Showcasing diverse elements of Latin American folklore (chacareras, carnavalitos and cumbia) in a unique interactive celebration for the global dance floor.
Dat Garcia (Argentina)
Mixing trip hop with folklore, drum and bass with cumbia, Dat Garcia is ZZK Records 1st female beatmaker. Captivating audiences with her powerful stage presence, innovative songwriting and eclectic demeanor, she proves the Buenos Aires digital folk scene isn’t just a men’s club anymore.
EL G
Mastermind behind the Buenos Aires label ZZK Records and ZZK Films.
plus Pandemic Pete & More
JUNE 8th LOWDOWN BRASS BAND
June 8 join us at Brillobox for the return of Lowdown Brass band playing all the brass band hip hop you can handle. Plus Drum Lines Hard Rhymes, Selecta, and more.
We are excited to announce the 6th season of Weather Permitting at the Shadyside Nursery. This is a kid friendly evening event. Big things coming for Weather Permitting this summer.
We are excited to announce 4 big shows coming up in the next month. We have a lot of great music from around the world coming through Pittsburgh. This is just the first round of shows. Stay tuned.
June 8 join us at Brillobox for the return of Lowdown Brass band playing all the brass band hip hop you can handle. Plus Drum Lines Hard Rhymes, Selecta, and more.
King Coya, danceable alter ego of Gaby Kerpel (De La Guarda, Fuerza Bruta) a pioneer of folklore fused with electronic music, brings a powerful live performance together with the dance troupe “Queen Cholas”. Showcasing diverse elements of Latin American folklore (chacareras, carnavalitos and cumbia) in a unique interactive celebration for the global dance floor.
Dat Garcia (Argentina)
Mixing trip hop with folklore, drum and bass with cumbia, Dat Garcia is ZZK Records 1st female beatmaker. Captivating audiences with her powerful stage presence, innovative songwriting and eclectic demeanor, she proves the Buenos Aires digital folk scene isn’t just a men’s club anymore.
EL G
Mastermind behind the Buenos Aires label ZZK Records and ZZK Films.
plus Pandemic Pete & More
We are excited to announce the 6th season of Weather Permitting at the Shadyside Nursery. This is a kid friendly evening event. Big things coming for Weather Permitting this summer.
And of course the monthly dance party at the Brillobox.
5 extremely hot programs about to hit Pittsburgh as the February snow continues to fall. Pandemic and Pittonkatonk are about to drop a global heat wave on our city unlike any other. #globalwarming – DJ SMI (pandemic, afroheat, beleza, etc).
We are excited to be producing events independently as well as collaboratively with the Consortium and Andy Warhol Museum, Whats up?
Boogát is a Canadian-Mexican musician from Montreal, blending hip-hop with Latin Music styles such as Cumbia, Salsa and Reggaeton. His album ”Neo-Reconquista” won the Juno and Félix award for ”World Music Album of the Year” at the 2016 Juno Awards and the ADISQ gala, , respectively.
The son of immigrant parents from Paraguay and Mexico, he was born in the city of Québec and raised in the Beauport borough of the city. In 2001, he moved to Montréal where his career started.
Singing first in French, Boogát moved to Spanish after playing with the electronic music producer Poirier and the Latin music group Roberto Lopez Project; discovering a new world of possibilities that opened the way to collaborate with artists such as La Yegros, Uproot Andy, El Hijo De La Cumbia, El Dusty, Lido Pimienta, G-Flux, Super San, Mati Zundel, Kid Koala, Poirier, Pierre Kwenders, Radio Radio and El Remolon, amongst others.
The Consortium and Pandemic present the return of the amazing
band from Niamey, Niger TAL NATIONAL http://talnational.com/
Fri Mar 16 8 pm doors $16 adv/$20 door 21+ event
Spirit Hall, 242 51st St, Lawrenceville (nice parking! big dancefloor!)
tickets on sale starting Feb 5 at Juke Records (Bloomfield), Dave’s Music Mine (South Side), Caliban Books (Oakland) and Acoustic Music Works (Squirrel Hill) and online at https://talnationalpittsburgh.brownpapertickets.com/
with special guests Bombici and DJ Pandemic
You loved them in 2015 at the Thunderbird, and now they’re back, celebrating the release of Tantabara, their 3rd album on Fat Cat Records out Feb 9, 2018. https://talnational.bandcamp.com/
Tal National are a self-described “rock band,” though their vision of rock may push well past what the West fences in around that term, and guitarist Almeida finds as much inspiration in trance as he does in rock’s embrace. The grooves are the backbone of the album, and the intent is to create a trance-state that overwhelms conscious thought and lets the listener be surrounded by the energy and emotion of Tal National. Brimming with the band’s complex, intense spirit, the album is a continuation of the balance of tradition and innovation that have driven their previous albums. It’s a joyous celebration and euphoric epiphany all in one complex package. We’d expect nothing less at this point from Tal National.
WEST PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA @ Salem’s Event Center (LINK)
Pittonkatonk fundraiser in partnership with the University Of Pittsburgh Carpathian Ensemble.
PITTONKATONK & Pitt Carpathian Ensemble Present
WEST PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
(2016 Pittonkatonk featured act)
Carpathian Ensemble
(UPITT Balkan ensemble)
PROCEEDS BENEFIT PITTONKATONK MAY DAY BRASS BBQ.
Food, Drink, Dancing
(Come early and munch on some eastern european cuisine)
All Ages Event TICKET LINK
Free entry for Pitt Students
$5-15 donations
7pm doors (music at 8pm)
About WPO
With a line-up of Philadelphia musicians whose influences range from Sun Ra to Bulgarian brass bands, West Philadelphia Orchestra is a unique live ensemble in today’s auto-tuned musical world. They began playing Romanian ballads, Macedonian folk-dance songs, Bulgarian wedding music, and Klezmer in late 2006, and have continued expanding their repertoire of Eastern European music. The band also plays original tunes which blend other sounds, like jazz and classical, together with traditional Balkan sounds. As much a community as a band, WPO’s performances are celebratory events. With blistering beats and walls of brass, they inspire audiences to hold hands, gyrate, howl, and otherwise slip the yoke of the homogenized culture industry.
We welcome singer/songwriter, Fatoumata Diawara (aka Fatou), who is originally from Mali and currently residing in France. Her much anticipated spring 2018 record will follow-up on her critically acclaimed debut album “Fatou” (2011) on World Circuit/Nonesuch Records, which was the No.1 album on the world music charts for six months in 2011. Fatou has collaborated with a wide array of musicians including Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabaté, Herbie Hancock and John Paul Jones, and she was featured in the recent documentary film, Mali Blues.
This event is co-presented with Carnegie Nexus as part of its 2018 event series, “Becoming Migrant… what moves you?” and PANDEMIC.
Wanna volunteer? Email us at pittonkatonk(at)gmail dot com subject line :Volunteer
About Pittonkatonk
Pittonkatonk is a grassroots, volunteer-run social and environmental justice organization that promotes creativity and critical thought by way of music making and participatory events in and around the Pittsburgh Area. Pittonkatonk established itself as a free community event in 2014 by inviting local and national community brass bands, street performers, and activists to convene in a May Day celebration. The annual Brass BBQ held the first saturday of May encourages participants to engage in making the event happen through bringing shared food dishes (POTLUCK), volunteering to run the event, hosting traveling musicians, promoting the event, and performance.
Performers (subject to change)
What Cheer Brigade (Providence)
– legendary 18 piece brass punks providing sounds from the balkans, Prov DIY noise scene, and general masters blasters.
Detroit Party Marching Band (Detroit)
– too punk for a bio
Keleta and Super Yamba Band (West Africa/NYC)
– high-energy, psychedelic afrofunk/afrobeat DANCE music powerhouse fronted by the legendary afrobeat veteran, Kaleta. Kaleta hails from the Benin Republic in West Africa and is a former touring band member with both Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade.
Mdou Moctar (Niger)
– Mdou Moctar hails from Abalak, in the Azawagh desert of Niger. One of the few original singer/songwriters willing to experiment and push the boundaries of the genre.
Esso Afrojam (Chicago)
-global troubadours and subversive thinkers of an emerging counterculture in the 70s and 80s
Sto-Rox Marching Band
– Pittonkatonk Education Program Participants
and more TBA
This year we have the addition of a Community Resource Tent
more details TBA.
Excited to be back at Brillobox first friday of February. We have some exciting things lined up for early March including March 2nd performance by Boogat and a performance by West Philadelphia Orchestra at Ryan Arts Center in McKees Rocks.
RSVP to February event https://www.facebook.com/events/1520904894674570/
4 hours of non stop global dancehall and the return of Boogat. His music blends elements of Hip Hop, Cumbia, Salsa and Reggaeton.
plus Pandemic Pete playing Bhangra, Balkan, Cumbia, Afrobeats and more.
more about Boogat below and Facebook EVENT LINK ticket link below
Boogát is a Canadian-Mexican musician from Montreal, blending hip-hop with Latin Music styles such as Cumbia, Salsa and Reggaeton. His album ”Neo-Reconquista” won the Juno and Félix award for ”World Music Album of the Year” at the 2016 Juno Awards and the ADISQ gala, , respectively.
The son of immigrant parents from Paraguay and Mexico, he was born in the city of Québec and raised in the Beauport borough of the city. In 2001, he moved to Montréal where his career started.
Singing first in French, Boogát moved to Spanish after playing with the electronic music producer Poirier and the Latin music group Roberto Lopez Project; discovering a new world of possibilities that opened the way to collaborate with artists such as La Yegros, Uproot Andy, El Hijo De La Cumbia, El Dusty, Lido Pimienta, G-Flux, Super San, Mati Zundel, Kid Koala, Poirier, Pierre Kwenders, Radio Radio and El Remolon, amongst others.
He released his first full-length Spanish album ”El Dorado Sunset” in 2013. The album won two ”Félix Awards” for ”Best World Music Album” and ”Producer of the Year” at ”ADISQ 2013”. He has been touring Canada, USA, México, Argentina, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Czech Republic and Spain ever since.
”San Cristóbal Baile Inn”, which includes collaborations with Andrés Oddone, Frikstailers, Miss Bolivia, Niña Dioz and Lemon Bucket Orchestra, was just released in 2017.
$10 advance / $15 at the door
Plus BLAK RAPP MADUSA (1Hood)
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania- Mel box Carter, Also known as Blak Rapp M.A.D.U.S.A., emerges from those humble streets to take the conscious music movement by storm. Through spoken word and melodic lyricism this rapper, poet, activist and historian paints a vivid picture of her culture via social and political justice interwoven with spiritual inspiration.With a degree in Africana Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, M.A.D.U.S.A., whose name is an acronym for “Making A Difference Using Skillsand Activism”, uses her vast knowledge and experiences to relate to the masses.
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Click Here to visit the Brown Paper Tickets event page.
Pandemic brings the global heat to Brillobox with Dj SMI & Pandemic Pete punishing the speakers with the heaviest dancehall from Latin America, Africa, India, the Balkans, & more! https://www.facebook.com/events/1691683334210269/?ti=icl
Wanna know whats in the rotation?
check my soundcloud. click that cloud like link above or watch the youtube videos below. Enjoy!
As we close out our 12 rotation around the sun we decided to celebrate in 2 parts. First show is Nov 3 w/ Low Down Brass band from Chicago and the second is Nov 17 with El Dusty and Dos Santos. Click on the images below for links.
THIS SHOW WILL COST MORE THAN $7000 to put together. Why?
The band is flying from Peru to Pittsburgh. We have hotels, food, equipment rentals, sound, venue, and more to pay for.
You can pay $15 to enter. But I’m asking that if you can donate more please do. We don’t want to make a profit on this show. We don’t want to lose money either.
Los Wemblers —- Cumbia amazonicá pioneers from Peru for the first US show of their first-ever world tour.
Formed in 1968 in Iquitos, Peru, Los Wembler’s pioneered a unique style of music that combined cumbia rhythms, electric guitars, and psychedelic sounds. Their 1971 LP, Al Ritmo de Los Wembler’s, pushed the regional sound of chicha (cumbia rhythms combined with Andean folk melodies) to new levels. This new sound took the name cumbia amazonicá, after the first track on Al Ritmos, and it shaped andean popular music for decades. Even at their height of popularity, Los Wembler’s performed only in their hometown of Iquitos and neighboring areas, with rare performances in neighboring Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. By the early 1980s, Los Wembler’s faded into the background as the popularity cumbia amazonicá gave way to newer electronic cumbia sounds. Los Wemblers never stopped playing, but stayed in Iquitos playing the occasional party, wedding, or community events. In the early 2000s, cumbia amazonicá was rediscovered as a missing link between traditional cumbia and a new generation of musicians in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. In 2007, Barbès Records released Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru and Los Wembler’s were rediscovered. In 2011, they performed in Lima for the first time in twenty-five years. A new generation of tropical electronic musicians looked to them for inspiration and the Peruvian group Dengue Dengue Dengue collaborated with them. In 2015, the Smithsonian invited Los Wembler’s to perform at the Folklife Festival in Washington DC.
Los Wembler’s haven’t lost any of their creative edge. Watching them perform or record is to witness musicians at the height of their powers. Their happy first experiments with cumbia and indigenous rhythms were not the product of chance. These are accomplished musicians in tune with their environment but also infinitely curious about the world. They may have a fondness for 1970’s production values, but after all, so do Jack White and Daptone. The style Los Wembler’s created more than forty years ago has finally found an audience around the world, and Los Wembler’s intend to keep it relevant by finding new ways to experiment.
Catch them in Pittsburgh for the first show on their first world tour.
We have a huge run a shows coming up. Everything from Taureg guitar mastery to the originators of Chicha a peruvian psychedelic style from the amazon, as well as national touring cumbia bands and a hip hop brass band.
As Pandemic enters its 13th year we are producing a lot of bigger events. Here is the 2nd of two summer mixes I just put together.
This month is maybe one of the craziest of my life. In sept I’m heading to eastern europe for three weeks then back to host 2 of my favorite bands. Its unlike anything else. Both @Group Doueh and @Los Wemblers have been huge inspirations.
Los Wemblers —- Cumbia amazonicá pioneers from Peru for the first US show of their first-ever world tour.
Formed in 1968 in Iquitos, Peru, Los Wembler’spioneered a unique style of music that combined cumbia rhythms, electric guitars, and psychedelic sounds. Their 1971 LP,Al Ritmo de Los Wembler’s,pushed the regional sound of chicha (cumbia rhythms combined with Andean folk melodies) to new levels. This new sound took the name cumbia amazonicá, after the first track on Al Ritmos, and it shaped andean popular music for decades. Even at their height of popularity, Los Wembler’s performed only in their hometown of Iquitos and neighboring areas, with rare performances in neighboring Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. By the early 1980s, Los Wembler’s faded into the background as the popularity cumbia amazonicá gave way to newer electronic cumbia sounds. Los Wemblers never stopped playing, but stayed in Iquitos playing the occasional party, wedding, or community events. In the early 2000s, cumbia amazonicá was rediscovered as a missing link between traditional cumbia and a new generation of musicians in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia. In 2007, Barbès Records released Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru and Los Wembler’s were rediscovered. In 2011, they performed in Lima for the first time in twenty-five years. A new generation of tropical electronic musicians looked to them for inspiration and the Peruvian group Dengue Dengue Dengue collaborated with them. In 2015, the Smithsonian invited Los Wembler’s to perform at the Folklife Festival in Washington DC.
Los Wembler’s haven’t lost any of their creative edge. Watching them perform or record is to witness musicians at the height of their powers. Their happy first experiments with cumbia and indigenous rhythms were not the product of chance. These are accomplished musicians in tune with their environment but also infinitely curious about the world. They may have a fondness for 1970’s production values, but after all, so do Jack White and Daptone. The style Los Wembler’s created more than forty years ago has finally found an audience around the world, and Los Wembler’s intend to keep it relevant by finding new ways to experiment.
Catch them in Pittsburgh for the first show on their first world tour.
SUNDAY MAY 6
PANDEMIC DANCE PARTY 