Y La Bamba Plays Wednesday Night at Cactus Cafe
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It’s stating the obvious, but…cultural background goes completely and utterly unappreciated until later on in life – particularly when it comes to music. This is why I’m grateful for bands like Y La Bamba who, at the very least, introduce fans to traditional folk musical styles through a modern folk-rock palette.
The Portland, OR-based sextet embraces those styles while exploring new ways of using them (songwriter and vocalist Luz Elena Mendoza has roots in Michoacán, Mexico in addition to California and Oregon). You can hear it in touches like the accordion, or the classic mariachi rhythms, or even Mendoza’s savory vocals throughout Court the Storm, the band’s third full-length release produced by Grammy Award-winner Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. Yet this is an intricate mixture of subtleties. While you clearly hear the Mexican musical influences, they’re presented in non-traditional and provocative ways.
Don’t miss Y La Bamba when they perform Wednesday night at the Cactus Cafe, located at 24th St. and Guadalupe in the Texas Union Building, on the UT campus. Local acoustic duo The Light Upstairs will start the evening. Doors open at 8 p.m. Highly recommended.
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