EL LEÓN PARDO Y LOS GAITEROS DE PUNTA ICACO
El León Pardo y los Gaiteros de Punta Icaco is a Colombian group formed around El León, composer, trumpeter and gaitero from Cartagena. Armed with gaitas, maracas and drums, the four artists take us on a vibrant journey to the heart of the Afro-Colombian musical tradition, where the soul of the gaita merges with the mixed rhythms of the drums. It’s a lively, intoxicating music where cumbia, gaita, el porro and puya are king and queen. Since 2013, El León Pardo has been shaping a unique sound identity that eludes rigid classification. Their spellbinding melodies breathe magical energy into the gaita, while the beat of the drums resonate like a vibrant pulse, taking the audience on a sensory journey. It’s an intense musical experience where the power of the percussion and the depth of the gaitas make every note vibrate.
STEREO NAKED
Stereo Naked is the unique encounter between Pierce Black’s New Zealand double bass and Julia Zech’s delicate banjo. Together, they craft a minimalist, intimate and quirky folk, born in the heart of Cologne’s bluegrass scene. After touring across the whole of Europe – from Ireland to Lithuania – and covering thousands of miles, their third album Upside Down was released in 2024. Critically acclaimed, it was nominated for the German Critics’ Prize and received a warm reception in the UK, notably on the BBC. On stage, their complicity hits the spot: disarming charm, dry humour and hand-crafted songs that tell simple but touching stories. Stereo Naked takes bluegrass off the beaten track and opens it up to a wider audience, without artifice or posturing. It’s raw, sincere, and it works. For their concert at the Polysons Festival, they will be joined by Joon Laukamp and Nathan Bontrager, exceptional partners in crime who enrich their musical world without ever betraying the “bare” essence of the project.
AYOM
Born out of the encounter between Jabu Morales (vocals, percussion) and two Mediterranean musicians
in Barcelona, Ayom is a vibrant collective that fuses Brazilian rhythms with those of Portuguese-speaking
Africa. Their music moves between samba, maracatu, funaná and semba, all driven by a contemporary,
festive and nomadic energy.
At the crossroads of Afro-Latin and Mediterranean cultures, the group offers a deep and danceable
journey, rooted in tradition but resolutely modern. A joyful, organic trance, somewhere between spirituality
and groove.
Distribution
Jabu Morales (vocals, percussion), Alberto Becucci (accordion), Timoteo Grignani (percussion), Ricardo
Quinteira (guitar)
Ëda Diaz
Ëda Diaz explores traditional Colombian melodies, experimental pop and electronic productions, reflecting the different parts of her borderless identity. This frontwoman double bass player and singer of Franco-Colombian origin has learned to juggle languages, cultures and rhythms, straddling Paris and Medellín, the town of her paternal grandmother. Her double bass becomes the real link between the two continents, and she combines it with rhythms such as the bolero, the bullerengue, the vallenato, as well as samples.
Éléonore Diaz Arbelaez is part of the generation of Latin singers (Rosalía, La Chica…) who are giving Spanish-speaking pop a new lease of life through their musical experimentation.
Hilgeum
Three musicians trained at the Korean University of Arts take tradition and unravel it, giving it a new, profound and dramatic form that will leave you breathless. After performing in some of the biggest venues in their native Korea, the Hilgeum trio is coming to Belgium to share its contemporary creations. The group’s music is set against the backdrop of the chaos of today’s world, in which string instruments (gayageum, geomungo and haegeum) try to find a way, a path, an answer.
Blue Mockingbirds ft. Leonie Evans
Six young Belgian musicians fascinated by the jazz of the ‘20s travel to New Orleans and share the streets and the stages with local musicians. The result is Blue Mockingbirds, a reference to the most jazz-mad bird in the United States, with the ability to imitate other birdsongs. The group tastefully composes and rearranges century-old gems in the New Orleans style they love so much. Add to that their encounter with the silky-smooth voice British multi-instrumentalist Leonie Evans (who will also play the washboard) and you’ve got a fun, unbridled septet that cultivates a love for the old school sound.