Concerts in the Courtyard: Viva Vallenato

We are excited to announce that this free outdoor concerts series returns in 2023, and features a diverse lineup of entertainers, representing the many cultures that make up central New Jersey. They all start at 2:00 pm.
 
Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.
 
The "Concerts In The Courtyard" series is held in the East Brunswick Municipal Courtyard, between the library and the township building. Concertgoers are advised to bring something to sit on, like beach chairs or a blanket. In case of inclement weather, the performance will move indoors.

Additional funding is provided by the East Brunswick Friends of the Library.

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Since 2013, Viva Vallenato! Cumbia Band has been electrifying crowds with the classic folkloric music of Colombia, South America.  77-year old lead singer & percussionist Hugo Lascarro Sr. hails from the city of Barranquilla, Colombia where he performed for many years. His son Hugo Jr. sings and plays traditional handmade Colombian drums, the caja vallenata and tambora costeña. Bassist & Singer Jose Borney hails from Tolima, Colombia, a richly musical region where he is a local music star. New Jersey native Accordionist Phil “Felipe” “Caballo” Passantino formed the band after falling in love with this rich music: vallenato, the local storytelling songs of Colombia’s Atlantic coast, sung over shimmering accordions and pulsating rhythms; and Colombian cumbia, a hypnotic courtship dance created in cultural exchange between indigenous cultures and escaped African slaves. Salvatore Carollo brings the thunder on the red hot timbales, and he will make sure you’re dancing! 

Viva Vallenato! have been featured by Univision, Telemundo, WPIX News, New York Post, Associated Press, Telecafe TV (Colombia), Telecaribe TV (Colombia), Telepacifico TV (Colombia), WKCR-FM, & Radio WADO-AM, Musikfest (Bethlehem PA), Flurry Festival of Music & Dance (Saratoga Springs NY), Music Under New York City, First Night Morristown NJ, the City of Philadelphia, New York’s “Accordions Around The World” Festival, and dozens of public libraries in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Their debut album “Dance Music of Colombia” was released in 2019.