Schedule
Friday, August 9, 2024 at 6:10 - 7:20 pm (Main Stage)
Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 10 pm (jazz after dark | SHeridan Opera House)
This storied band was born in Mexico in 1997 and came of age in Brooklyn, New York. Since Antibalas (Spanish for bulletproof or anti-bullet) came into being, they’ve filled stages with a who’s who of funk, Afrobeat and Latin musicians, some who’ve been in the band for most of its history, many of them players deep in Brooklyn’s Daptone scene. No matter the personnel, what’s delivered to ears and dancefloors around the world is a fiery, profoundly rhythmic sound by a group Questlove once said “is one of the few American bands I fear.” Such is their virtuoso power and brass chops. One music magazine called Antibalas “a raucous, joyous celebration of Afrobeat.” Indeed, Antibalas takes a deep bow to the great West African musician, Fela Kuti, an influence evident to this day.
Antibalas founder and saxophonist, Martin Perna, explains the music’s allure. “It's a timeless music in the sense that it is based on clave, this West African rhythmic concept,” he told NPR in 2020. “It's not one particular rhythm, but it's a sensibility — almost like the poles of a magnet or a battery that has a positive and a negative end. And when you put those two together and weave it into any style of music, it gives it this impression, a feeling of perpetual motion.” Now that’s what we call a dance party.