By Jim Cooperman

Special to the Observer

The Celebrate Shuswap Society recently announced its fall series of dance party shows at Song Sparrow Hall, beginning with the popular Latin fusion band, Locarno, on Saturday, Oct. 28.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available to purchase online at celebrateshuswap.ca

Locarno is the Latin project of JUNO Award winning musician, Tom Landa. Like him, the music is equal parts Mexican and Canadian. Landa was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to Canada in his teens. In the mid-1990s he formed folk roots band The Paperboys, who have been touring worldwide for over 20 years.

In 2006 Landa studied traditional Mexican music in Veracruz, Mexico, where he learned to play the jarana (an eight-string guitar) to play songs from the Son Jarocho repertoire. In 2009, Landa joined forces with producer Joby Baker (Alex Cuba, Adonis Puentes, Cowboy Junkies) and trumpeter Miguelito Valdes (Omara Portoundo, Afro Cuban All Stars) to make the album Una Mas Y Ya Nos Vamos, which garnered rave reviews. The music is a mix of Son Jarocho-inspired folk tunes with Afro-Cuban rhythms. Since then, the band has homed in on their sound and incorporated more of their influences such as music from Columbia, African Sukous, Mexican Marimba, Venezuelan Joropo and Brazilian Forro music.

Perhaps where the band shines the most is its live shows which feature Tom Landa on jaranas and guitars, Kalissa Landa on violin, Robin Layne on marimba, congas and timbales, Pedro Mota on guitar and vocals, Aaron McKinney on bass, Liam MacDonald on drums, congas and pandero, Mark D’Angelo on trumpet and Nick La Rivere on trombone. In 2016 the band released their second record Luz y Sombra, which features 10 original compositions and 2 traditional Mexican songs.

There are two more shows planned for this year, including a Nov. 25 benefit for wildfire recovery with one of the Shuswap’s favourite rock n’ roll bands, Headway, and a New Year’s Eve show with Paisley Groove, a Santana cover band from Kamloops. Since the Celebrate Shuswap Society began a year ago, it has produced seven shows and now has over 190 members.

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