On Saturday we got treated to a great show, by one of the DR's best young bands. El Batey (formerly known as Batey Cero) was performing at the Encuentro Artesanal at the Colonial Zone. So we thought we'd check it out. Myself, TJ and Robert headed down to the Zone though traffic was a pain. Once we got there we met up with Cigua, Jose Carlos, Miguel and Fernando, some of El Batey's band members. Before the show there was a visual art display by a Dominican artist in the US, Ignacio Alcantara, which in itself was very cool. At about 11:30 the band came out an rocked it!! They were amazing. They played some of their old hits with some new stuff and announced that they begin production of their new album "Arayano" in March.
For those of you who don't know Batey plays a mix of African/Taino/Haitian/Dominican/fusion/rock/soul sounds!!!!!!! It is absolutely great to listen to. In addition that their lead singer, Cigua, puts on a show and their band just rocks out you can sit back and enjoy this great pot luck of music.
The ambiance at the show was great. It was a great mix of people and the setting was beautiful. Though the bathroom confused the hell out of me. The mix of people included some jevitos, some business class, some hippies and reggae, some hip hop guys but what was great was that nobody cared who you were or what you were wearing. It was a great change from the norm and good to see people from different walks of life just enjoying great music.
If anyone gets a chance get to a show of theirs...
I have included a link to some of their songs. Palo San Juan is a favorite...
El Batey – Music at Last.fm
For those of you who don't know Batey plays a mix of African/Taino/Haitian/Dominican/fusion/rock/soul sounds!!!!!!! It is absolutely great to listen to. In addition that their lead singer, Cigua, puts on a show and their band just rocks out you can sit back and enjoy this great pot luck of music.
The ambiance at the show was great. It was a great mix of people and the setting was beautiful. Though the bathroom confused the hell out of me. The mix of people included some jevitos, some business class, some hippies and reggae, some hip hop guys but what was great was that nobody cared who you were or what you were wearing. It was a great change from the norm and good to see people from different walks of life just enjoying great music.
If anyone gets a chance get to a show of theirs...
I have included a link to some of their songs. Palo San Juan is a favorite...
El Batey – Music at Last.fm