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SPANGLISH FLY

The world's best and baddest boogaloo band! SPANGLISH FLY is part band, part celebration: 10 musicians igniting a party that quickly spreads to the audience, a fever of musical joy that infects everyone in reach. SPANGLISH FLY is "single-handedly reviving sixties bugalú in NYC" (NBC New York), the mix of Latin and soul/R&B music that emerged from the clubs, the street corners, the transistor radios and the pool halls of 1960s Spanish Harlem, a/k/a “El Barrio”–an irresistible hybrid that blends traditional Afro-Caribbean rhythms with the fervor, the feeling, and the harmonics of 60s-era soul. Spanglish Fly "roars through covers, originals, and transformations of previously untouched soul hits" (Village Voice), paying homage to the boogaloo genre while refreshing it for a new generation, adding a contemporary perspective to the music while maintaining its timeless groove. SPANGLISH FLY's multicultural cast has origins in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Ecuador, Venezuela, Canada, “Loisaida” and Upper Manhattan, coming together in New York City to play quintessential music of the urban USA. With vocals in both English and Spanish, appropriately enough, the band features four brash horns, swinging bass and piano, group choruses, and a sizzling 3-piece percussion section. SPANGLISH FLY FANS, whether they've been listening to boogaloo since back in the day or just since yesterday, shake their thing to the band's stirring melodies, danceable grooves and instant crowd engagement. From Boston to New York to DC to North Carolina, "Todos bailan y cantan, el ambiente es pura fiesta" (El Diario); they go wild dancing the boogaloo or simply freestlying it at Spanglish Fly’s one-of-a-kind Latin Soul parties. “What Sharon Jones did for oldschool soul, what Antibalas did for Afrobeat and what Chicha Libre is doing for chicha, Spanglish Fly is doing for bugalu. . . It’s about time somebody brought this stuff back and it’s a good thing it’s this band because they have authentic sabor.” – Lucid Culture “One part Latin rhythm and one part soul, the musical movement known as boogaloo first emerged right here in New York City back in the ‘60s. Spanglish Fly is reigniting the boogaloo sound decades later.” – WPRI's "The World" “Spanglish Fly are single-handedly reviving sixties bugalú in NYC.” – NBC New York “Todos bailan y cantan, el ambiente es pura fiesta. ‘Está tocando la banda Spanglish Fly y es Bugalú. . .’” – El Diario

New York, NY

Music

Videos

Watch on YouTube

El Pito (I'll Never Give Up on Georgia)

Photos

  • Photo by Jim Chow
  • Photo by Amanda Cardona of the Boogaloo Project
  • Our turf. The El.
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  • JG and MT at the Greene Space
  • Our turf. The El.
  • At SOBs!
  • Paloma!
  • Photo courtesy Yne Leal
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  • El Diario!
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  • Photo by Martin Cohen at Congahead.com
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  • "New York Boogaloo" LP due in stores September 18
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  • Live at SOBs 12-18-15
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  • At Tiny Desk!
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