A fusion of rumba flamenca, ska, reggae, cumbia, Turkish songs, and other global beats—plus lyrics in Spanish, English, and Turkish—Makrú will keep you dancing and aware of what's happening in the world.
FEATURING:
Jenny Rodriguez - vocals, vihuela, percussion
Raúl Vargas - vocals, cajón
Alberto Gutierrez - vocals, guitar
Haluk Kecelioglu - vocals, electric guitar, oud, violin
Vinicio Peñate - electric bass
Jesse Weber - drums & percussion
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Landing in ...
More
High-energy fiddle tunes from Turkey, Greece and beyond, Lars Tergis leads the charge on violin with driving, gritty interpretations of traditional party tunes and his own original compositions. Chris Reid adds a touch of ‘West’ with percussive chordal accompaniment on steel-string guitar. Gopal Slavonic brings his flamenco guitar chops to bear, while Faisal Zedan keeps the beat popping on derbekki, riqq, and davul. Joined on stage by some of the Bay Area’s top dancers, Lars and in Charge delive...
More
Istanbul Connection returns to the Red Poppy as a nine-piece band for a live, intimate performance of Balkan, Turkish, North African, and flamenco music. Come prepared to dance!
FEATURING:
Kata Miletich - vocals
Haluk Kecelioglu - vocals, oud, violin
Raúl Vargas - vocals, cajón, percussion
Melissa Cruz - percussion, dance
Sean Terguis - darbuka, tupan
Isaac Weiser - bass
Javier Jimenez - guitar
Danny Cao - trumpet
Joey Friedman - saxophone
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Istanbul C...
More
Vince Delgado’s Mid-East Tapestry Ensemble plays a diverse array of classical, urban, and folk music from the Arabic-speaking countries, as well as Turkish, Greek, Armenian, and Persian traditions along with original compositions. In a time when there is so much negative perception about the Middle East, the ensemble believes that the aesthetics and variety of these cultures would be of interest to American audiences. There is much beautiful music to be heard from these countries that have been ...
More
Drómeno returns to the Red Poppy with Turkish-influenced tunes from Asia-Minor, featuring oud, kanoun, violin, and vocals. This nostalgic music came with refugees from Smyrna, and the sounds are shared among other formerly Ottoman-occupied lands, like Macedonia, as well as the Sephardic Jews of this area. Joined by special guest percussionist Sean Tergis, the first half of the evening will be a sit-down concert, then the floor will be open for some lively regional Greek music for dancing!
...
More
Teslim (tes-LEEM) consists of three composers—violinist Kaila Flexer, multi-instrumental string wizard Gari Hegedus, and Elana Brutman on Cretan lyra with sympathetic strings—who share a common love of modal music from Turkey and Greece. Joined by percussionist Joshua Mellinger, the group presents the 7 Decades Project, which features original compositions by Flexer in honor of her parents, Abe and Bobbie.
Flexer’s parents met when they were just 11 years old. Now 83, the two have been togeth...
More
Eliyahu Sills and Amir Etemadzadeh are musicians of sensitivity, passion, skill, and nuance with years of experience performing. Presented with reverence, soul, and creativity, they will play music from Iran, Turkey, Israel, and the Arabic-speaking world, celebrating the common musical and spiritual heritage of the region's cultures, while honoring the great diversity found within them.
FEATURING:
Eliyahu Sills - Turkish & Persian ney, Arabic nai, oud, vocals
Amir A Etemadzadeh - tomb...
More
The Mulberry Project’s Summer 2018 concerts feature international musicians who specialize in the revival of rare Ottoman-Turkish and Balkan music. Inspired by the lively performance aesthetic documented on thousands of 78 RPM records from the region, the members of the Mulberry Project present new compositions in addition to the core repertoire of folk and urban art music from Istanbul and beyond. These concerts are dedicated to the memory of oud master Haig Manoukian.
FEATURING:
Bren...
More
A rare night of music presented by Édessa, the Balkan dance band explores a different repertoire from the Balkans, Turkey, and Armenia.
FEATURING:
George Chittenden - clarinet, guitar
Ari Langer - violin
Lise Liepman - santouri, accordion
Sean Tergis - darabuka, defi, tupan
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Édessa captures the passion and vitality that is at the heart of Balkan music, playing the intricate time signatures and highly ornamented modal music that is characteristic of the Bal...
More
Wahid is a duo that blends jazz, Ottoman maqam, and traditional rebetika—Greek regional blues from the 1920s. While their instrumentation pairing of the oud and frame drum dates back thousands of years, they have created a new approach using a chromatic bass frame set and improvisation over song forms. Their fifth release, Resonance, is in heavy rotation on the Transglobal World Music Chart, as well as Dore Stein's Tangents Radio.
FEATURING:
Dimitris Mahlis - oud
Chris Wabich - tuned ...
More
Dancer Bianca Rodriguez collaborates with NYC-based singer Jenny Luna and Bay Area musicians Joey Friedman and Gopal Slavonic to bring you fresh interpretations on music from Turkey, Spain, and the Balkans.
FEATURING:
Jenny Luna - vocals, cajon
Gopal Slavonic - guitar
Bianca Rodriguez - flamenco dance
Joey Friedman - saxophone
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Ole, Opa! was formed in 2016 by dancer Bianca Rodriguez and singer Jenny Luna. The group draws from Luna’s background in Balkan a...
More
Multi-instrumentalist Gary Haggerty and Arab percussionist Faisal Zedan return to the Red Poppy to express the dynamic aspects related to Arab and Middle Eastern drumming and its effect on the melodies performed.
FEATURING:
Gary Haggerty - oud, saz, mendochello, tarhu
Faisal Zedan - derbakki, riqq, frame drums
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Gary Haggerty is an accomplished performer and composer who specializes in stringed instruments including the oud, saz, violin, mandolin, setar, m...
More
The Project explores Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Eastern European, Celtic, Medieval, and West African music through original compositions and unexpected instrumentation, including tarhu duets.
FEATURING:
Daniel Berkman - kora, percussion
Gary Haggerty - oud, tarhu
Peter Maund - percussion
Sarah Michael - kanun, tarhu
Diana Rowan - harps
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Daniel Berkman is a San Francisco-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, accompanist, singer-songwriter, and electronic...
More
Flamenco dancer Bianca Rodriguez and New York-based Balkan/Turkish singer Jenny Luna team up with clarinetist Calvin Lai and guitarist Gopal Slavonic for a night of music from Turkey, Spain, and the Balkans.
FEATURING:
Jenny Luna - vocals, cajon
Gopal Slavonic - guitar
Calvin Lai - clarinet
Bianca Rodriguez - flamenco dance
Learn more: Jenny Luna
EVENT DETAILS
Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold i...
More
Often-rambunctious Balkan quartet Édessa, known for playing intricate time signatures and highly ornamented modal music with authority and joy, brings to the Poppy a night of wide-ranging, non-dance repertoire and new material.
Featuring:
George Chittenden – clarinet, gaida, zurna, guitar
Ari Langer – violin
Lise Liepman – santouri, accordion
Sean Tergis – davul, darabuka, defi
Using both traditional and modern instruments, Édessa plays a variety of styles that interweave melodies and ...
More
This bicoastal quartet–comprised of New York-based singer Jenny Luna and Bay Area residents Bianca Rodriguez (flamenco dance), Morgan Nilsen (clarinet), and Chris Reid (guitar)–promises to bring you a fresh take on music from Turkey, Spain, and the Balkans.
Ole! Opa!, formed by Bianca Rodriguez and Jenny Luna, draws from Jenny’s background in Balkan and Turkish singing and Bianca's background in flamenco dance. The group performs songs from several countries, including Turkey, Spain, Romania,...
More
Master percussionist Faisal Zedan returns to the Red Poppy Art House alongside multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus for an evening of music rooted in Turkish, Arab, and Greek traditions. Displaying a dynamic approach to rhythm and melody, the duo enthusiastically rejuvenates classic styles of Middle Eastern drumming.
Featuring:
Gari Hegedus - Turkish and Arabic ouds, saz
Faisal Zedan - derbakki, riqq, and frame drums
Born in Lebanon and raised in Syria, Faisal Zedan grew up impassioned wit...
More
Multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus is joined by master percussionist Faisal Zedan and his ensemble for an evening of instrumental music rooted in Turkish, Arabic and Greek traditions.
Gari Hegedus began devoting his life to music 25 years ago with the study of early European, Celtic and Bretagne music. From there he was led east into the intense practice and performance of Turkish classical and Mevlevi ceremonial music. His repertoire and playing styles span outward from Turkey to Greece and ...
More
