Last summer CCV executive director Jon Lohman met a gifted Caymanian fiddler named Samuel Rose at the 87th annual Galax Old Time Fiddler’s Convention. There’s fiddle music in the Caribbean you ask? This was the same question Jon asked. The answer led CCV to dive deep into Caymanian culture.
Now Samuel’s band, The Swanky Kitchen Band—the last of the fiddle-based dance bands on the Cayman Islands—are coming to the U.S. for an east coast tour and you can hear their big, joyous, danceable sound for yourself. Tour highlights include a weekend at the Lowell Folk Festival, an afternoon performing and engaging with the archives at the Library of Congress and an exploration of Black String Band music across the Americas at Lincoln Center with a collaborative performance with fiddle/banjo player Jake Blount.
Tour Dates:
- July 26 – Swanky Kitchen Band East Coast Tour Kick-Off: First Works, Providence, RI
- July 27-28 – Swanky Kitchen Band at the Lowell Folk Fest: Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, MA
- July 31 – Swanky Kitchen Band at the Library of Congress- FREE: Library of Congress in partnership with the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, Washington, DC
- July 31 – Swanky Kitchen Band DC Evening Dance Party: Global Sounds of the Hill, Washington, DC
- August 3 – Swanky Kitchen Band at Lincoln Center: Globalfest at Lincoln Center New York, NY
- August 8 – Swanky Kitchen Band at the Blue Ridge Music Center: Blue Ridge Music Center, Galax, VA (details to come)
The Swanky Kitchen Band preserves a nearly lost tradition of the Cayman Islands (south of Cuba, west of Jamaica). It’s fiddle-driven, outdoor-kitchen, acoustic boogie, not unlike Louisiana’s Cajun music, but with a Caribbean twist. Leader and fiddler Samuel Rose is a modern folklorist with skin in the game.
Afropop Worldwide
Now you can see this rare but wonderful music for yourself. See ya on the road!
