Today for Musical Monday, we unveil a never-before-seen video from Che Apalache's April 26, 2018 performance at the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library. The bluegrass maestros took Glens Falls and our Live Folklife Concert series by storm that night, and went on to play Washington D.C.'s world-famous Kennedy Center a mere 4 months later. Looking back at their amazing renditions of the gospel favorite, "Green Pastures," and their original Japanese composition, "春の便り (The Coming of Spring)," it's easy to see why the band soared to stardom.
About the band:
Che Apalache is a four-man string band based in Buenos Aires with members from Argentina, Mexico and the United States. The group’s founder is Joe Troop (fiddle), a North Carolinian multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and composer who moved to Argentina in 2010. While patiently carving out a niche in the local music scene, Joe taught bluegrass and old-time for a living. That’s how he met Pau Barjau (banjo), Franco Martino (guitar) and Martin Bobrik (mandolin), his most dedicated students. They quickly became picking buddies and in 2013 decided to hit the stage.
Che Apalache began as a bluegrass band, but eventually incorporated Latin American styles into their repertoire. Combining instrumental prowess with tight vocal harmonies, they have curated an authentic blend of genres to reflect the nature of their lives. Evoking images from Appalachia to the Andes, their affectionately titled debut album, “Latingrass” is testament to a powerful cultural and musical exchange.
In 2017 the band received grants from the North Carolina Humanities Council and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities to tour the United States. Everywhere they went on their five-week ramble, they were met with enthusiasm and praise. At the prestigious Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia they were awarded first place in the Neo-Traditional band competition.
https://www.cheapalache.com
Free, live concert recorded Thursday, April 26, 2018 by Kevin Rogan and Todd DeGarmo. Edited by Kevin Rogan.
Concert hosted and produced by Todd DeGarmo, founding director of the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library and funded in part by the Friends of Crandall Public Library and the New York State Council on the Arts - Folk Arts Program with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature.