Gypsy Queens & Kings feat. Mahala Raï Banda

Dazzling All-Star Party: The opening features "The best Gypsy party this side of the Danube," which is what the "The Guardian" has to say about this pan-European super group of Gypsy music. Twenty artists from five countries spanning the Pyrenees to the Carpathians transform the stage into a vibrant festival.

Esma Redzepova of Macedonia sings with her multi-octave voice and a resonating body to match. After a more than 50-year career and more than 20 albums, she is an institution, honored not only for her music, but also for her commitment to victims of the Balkan wars. She was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Joining her is the flamboyant Bulgarian Gypsy Rocker Jony Iliev, who calls forth memories of Rachid Taha, and the young singer Nina Florentina Sandu, member of a Romanian musical dynasty. Kaloomé from the lively multicultural center of Perpignan- sings, plays, dances the rumba Catalan harder than the Andalusian Flamenco.And if that isn’t enough, she comes with her own motor and stage program. She has inherited the two powerhouses of Romanian Gypsy music. The Banda is connected to the virtuoso violinist, Zimbalist, accordionist from Clejani, home of the Taraf de Haïdouks. And the winds are army veterans from Zece Prajini, the origin of Fanfare Ciocarlia. Together with the Balkan Beats, the Bucharest suburbs are the best sources for wild Gypsy-Pop. Shantel realized this, and is mixing her first CD. And they are unbeatable on stage. Not only the London Times ranked her "among the greatest live-music acts of recent times".

In cooperation with Asphalt Tango

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