Friday Jan 3-9, 2014
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Fun on the Riviera Nayarit By Cat Morgan www.rivieranayaritfun.com
Live Music Abounds around the Nayarit
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uring the high season you can find about any type of music that is known to mankind on the Riviera Nayarit / Puerto Vallarta scene. Every pueblo has a different flavor, with music festivals, all at different months during the season. Bars and restaurants love to have live entertainment to persuade you to come and eat at their restaurant; usually having some sort of dinner special to go along with it. Some have cover charges, depending on the band, and some do not. There are several well known musicians that reside here during the winter season. One of my favorites is Bryan Savage. Bryan has played his saxophone and flute to audiences in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Canada with Al Stewart, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Amazing Rhythm Aces and John Denver. He has opened for Bonnie Raitt, Mick Fleetwood, Santana, Glen Frey, Eddie Money, Journey, Gary Burton, Rick Braun, Chuck Mangione, just to name a few! You can catch him playing with another well known musician Chas Eller (keyboard extraordinaire) and the AllStars at the Paradise Theater, (200 pesos not including dinner I believe) or out by the pool at Los Arroyos Verdes on January 19th, cost 200 pesos includes the pool pass, lunch and a couple of drinks…(a smoking deal!). Also catch him every Tuesday in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (just past Bucerias towards Punta de Mita) at Oso’s Oyster Bar on the La Cruz Marina.
Who is Luna Rumba Anyways?? I keep getting asked! Another hot band on the scene this season is Luna Rumba performing Latin, flamenco, Middle Eastern, Celtic riffs and Cuban rhythms. They have a very inte-
resting story, and most folks that have heard of them know them from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Recently playing at Breakers to a packed house Dec. 28th, (their last no admission concert) they are also performing at the Paradise Stage Community Center this season starting in January with their first show on January 16th, tickets; 200 pesos. It all started with a Canadian musician Geo Urich sailed into the small port of Zihuatanejo. A new friend introduced him to Cheko Ruiz, a talented singer / song writer from Mexico City. It is said, that after a jam session one afternoon at Rick’s Bar, they continued to play together creating original music. After playing together for only two weeks, they were asked to play for the International Guitar Festival musician’s welcome dinner. They went their separate ways after that, promising to play together in the future. Bringing you up to date three years later, in 2012, Cheko Ruiz and Geo Uhrich got together in La Cruz, where Geo was docked and started writing, rehearsing / recording songs for what was to become Luan Rumba. During this time they met up with Chas Eller (mentioned above) who plays keyboards on the album and drummer / percussion whiz Carlos Mancilla, and a few other great musicians to round out the sounds. The end result was a world-class CD with 11 original songs. In March 2013 they were notified that a song that Cheko wrote,” Vamoa Rumbear” (the first song on the CD) that Geo had submitted to the John Leno Songwriting Contest which won finalist in the World Music Category, out of thousands of entrants. Another song on the CD entitled “Espirtu Amor” written by Geo placed second in the world in the instrumental category for the USA International Songwriting Contest.
Luna Rumba prides themselves playing every concert live. (Not everyone does!) Their real (meaning not pre-recorded) acoustic rhythmus with Cheko on guitar and amazing vocals that will melt your soul, Geo on violin, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar, along with other amazing musicians like Carlos and Chas excite everyone and bring them to their feet! Get out there and enjoy some live music this season…and get your groove on! Cat Morgan is owner of the RivieraNayaritFun.com Regioal Network and can be reached with comments, questions other Riviera Nayarit news at Cat@ RivieraNayaritFun.com With Luna Rumba, real acoustic instruments meet with electronic wizardry to create layers and depths of sound, while world rhythms excite audiences to get on their feet to dance. Luna Rumba thrills audiences with their sonic tapestry of Latin Pop, Spanish Flamenco, Arabic
www.vallartatribune.com
and East Indian melodies, Cuban rhythms, Celtic riffs and even Latin Jazz. Their shows are a celebration of musical fusion, human diversity, creativity, warmth and virtuosity. Fiery violins, rumba-flamenco guitar, hot keyboard riffs and cool bass ride on top of the unstoppable polyrhythmic grooves created by the exotic percussion instruments and drums. If this weren’t enough, be prepared to hear vocals that will melt your heart and warm your soul.
Wednesday January 8 8pm
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