Havana World Music Festival 2016: Earth, Wind & Fire Among First American Bands in Festival
Earth, Wind & Fire will be the latest American exports to head to Cuba.
The funk band is slated to perform in the country at the third edition of the Havana World Music Festival this coming March 2016.
According to the report, other bands that are slated to appear at the event include Mexico's Centavrvs, Los Angeles' Ellas, Spaniards Jorge Pardo and Lin Cortes, and Dominican Republic star Carolina Camacho.
According to the festival's official website, the Havana World Music Festival got its start back in 2014 and featured a plethora of artists from all over the world including Fuel Fandango from Spain, Colombia's La Makina del Karibe, the U.K.'s DJ Auntie Flo, Norway's Thea Hjelmeland and a number of Cuban artists including X Alfonso, Los Van Van and Sintesis. There were no American musicians listed in that program.
According to Panamerican World, there was an emphasis on French and Cuban collaborations with such French artists as DJ Philippe Cohen Solal and David Walters in 2015. Mexico was represented by Camilo Lara, and Moroccan singer Aziz Sahmaoui and his band University of Gnawa was also showcased. Finally Spanish band Muchachito Bombo was featured.
The emergence of Earth, Wind & Fire alongside Ellas provides a big boost for the festival in terms of showcasing American artists in Cuba.
Earth, Wind & Fire has been active since 1969 and has received a number of awards over the years. The group won five American Music Awards in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980 and also picked up six Grammy Awards in 1975, 1978, 1979 and 1982. The group's album "Illumination" was nominated for the Best R&B Album award in 2005, marking the band's latest Grammy nomination. The group has recorded a total of 21 studio albums and four live albums.
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