The 23rd season of the award-winning Afro Roots Fest makes a second run to the Florida Keys on May 29-30 to the Florida Keys Brewing Company. The event will feature live music on both days, with JUke and Electric Piquete on May 29 and Electric Kif and the Nag Champayons on May 30. It all begins at 6 p.m. both days. All ages are welcome and a donation of $10 will earn attendees an official festival swag item.
“It feels good to finally bring the festival back to Islamorada after a year where much of the musical programming in the Florida Keys was canceled,” said festival founder and musical curator Jose Elias, who also serves as the executive director for the presenting non-profit organization Community Arts and Culture (CAC). “Our thanks go to the Florida Keys Brewing Co., Keys ICE, the Morada Way Arts & Cultural District, and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.”
Elias is also the co-founder and guitar player in the Nag Champayons, one of the festival’s featured performers.
Juke is a four-piece “post-blues” hybrid. Spearheaded by frontman / harmonica player / singer Eric Garcia, the band’s content touches on non-traditional subject matter while simultaneously keeping the crowd moving with a smile on their faces.
Electric Piquete is a two-time Miami New Times Best of Miami “Best Latin Band” award-winning Latin funk outfit. The band has played virtually all major events in South Florida, and their influences are as diverse as the Miami region that birthed them: from rock to jazz, funk, Afro-Caribbean, progressive and R&B.
Electric Kif is a Miami-based power quartet that explores the boundaries between rock, jazz fusion and electronic drum & bass. Made up of bassist Rodrigo Zambrano, keyboardist Jason Matthews, drummer Armando Lopez and guitarist Eric Escanes, the band describes its music as “post-nuclear,” a mash of hard-hitting groove, high-octane riffs and cosmic melody.
Miami’s Afro Galactic / Tropidelic funksters the Nag Champayons blend African, Caribbean and North American influences. Its most recent release is the single and video for “Brazilian LSD,” which served as a follow-up to 2015’s Rising Sounds of a Sinking City. More information is at floridakeysbrewingco.com, 305-664-9722, www.AfroRootsFest.com and www.CommunityArtsandCulture.org.
MUSIC LINEUP
JUke and Electric Piquete — May 29
Electric Kif and Nag Champayons — May 30
