Click here to listen to streaming tracks from Matuto
The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present the Matuto, Friday, January 31, 2014 at 8 PM in Milliken Auditorium. Tickets are $25 advance, $28 at the door and $22 for museum members are plus fees. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Museum Box office at 231-995-1553 or on line at www.dennosmuseum.org, also at 1-800-836-0717 or www.MyNorthTickets.com.
Rolling drums and quicksilver accordion licks, earthy vibes and thoughtful reflections mingle on Matuto’s latest refinement of their Appalachia-gone-Afro-Brazilian sound, The Devil and The Diamond (Motema Music; release: May 14th, 2013).
Matuto continues their North American Tour into 2014, after playing over 150 shows the previous year, including a 5 week long Spring tour across Africa that brought the band to Mozambique, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Senegal. The group has performances scheduled in New York, Michigan, Washington, Ottawa, and British Columbia.
In Brazil, Matuto is slang for Country Boy, but this NYC based group of urbanized virtuosos is emerging as one of the world’s hottest international touring acts. Recently awarded the title of “American Musical Ambassadors” by the U.S. State Department, Matuto has been hailed as “seductively cross cultural” by the Chicago Tribune, and praised by the Sun Times as “the height of world music sophistication.”
Matuto’s songs can sway hips just as easily as spark insights. On stage, the instruments swirl together, bobbing in and out, whirling around the tension at the core of Matuto’s music: the push and pull between the Latin syncopations of Brazilian music and the folk traditions of the American South. Its Bluegrass meets Brazil. It’s an unlikely combination on paper, but on the dance floor, it just feels right.
Matuto will offer a performance for schools on Friday, January 31, 2014 at 10 AM in the Milliken Auditorium of the Dennos Museum Center. Teachers may call Jason Dake at 231-995-1029 or e-mail jdake@nmc.edu for information or to reserve tickets for the school performances.
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Here’s what critics are saying about Matuto:
“These engaging Brazilian Forró rockers borrow from jazz and funk in their lively sets.” – New York Times
“The joyous, ebullient music of Matuto merges the forró folkloric music of Brazil with the sounds of all-American bluegrass. Violin, accordion, and a range of Brazilian percussion give this band, founded by South Carolina native Clay Ross, a seductively cross-cultural appeal.” – Chicago Tribune
“The accordion will make you want to throw salt on your hardwood floors and two-step with someone.” – The Examiner
While many bands attempt ambitious fusion projects, few succeed in such an authentic way.” – RootsWorld
“The sound resulting from Matuto’s lab is a mature blend which seems to expand and update the musical legacy of MPB (Música Popular Brasileria), refreshing the relationship that for so many decades has existed between U.S. American folk musics and Brazil’s own musical heritage.” – Black Grooves
The 2013-2014 performance season at the Dennos Museum Center is made possible with support from the Robert T and Ruth Haidt Trust, and the Osterlin Performance Endowment with media support from
WNMC 90.7, WCMU Public Broadcasting and TV 29&8. Housing for our performers is provided by the Cambria Suites and Country Inn.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday’s until 8 PM and Sundays 1-5 PM. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.