Kensington Market Jazz Fest: Science Fiction Cumbia @ Supermarket, Saturday

Eric St-Laurent, Irene Torres w/ Science Fiction Cumbia raise the roof at The Supermarket tonight at 8:30 pm. Photo: Chris Climo

Check out a short clip of Science Fiction Cumbia in action right here. 

Pokey LaFarge & His Band, Cicada Rhythm @ The Concert Hall, September 18

Pokey LaFarge returns with his band for a show at Toronto's Concert Hall on September 18. Get tickets below. 

You can get tickets for Pokey LaFarge's highly-anticipated show with Cicada Rhythm at the Concert Hall right here. 

One For The Weekend: Orchestra Mambo International feat. Chip Wickham

Check out "Flauta Pa' Ti" off Orchestra Mambo International's new album Apúntalo! out now! And catch 'em on tour in the UK. 

Here's the scoop...

Orchestra Mambo International are an eminently groovy Latin big-band, based in the UK and featuring a multi-generational raft of global musicians from the old quarters of Latin music – Havana, Caracas and Bogotá – including Venezuelan 72-year-old lead-singer Carlos “Pachanga” Peña and driven by two unlikely lads from Yorkshire, in the north of England, Jonny Enright and Lubi Jovanovic.

Grouped in 2022 by Enright, a traditional northern brass-band alumni turned songwriter/salsero and Jovanovic, Latin DJ, mentor, promoter and salsa encyclopaedia, Orchestra Mambo International’s debut album ¡Apuntalo! is an impeccable set list of good-time, New Yorican era (1970s) mambo, salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz gems featuring a guest appearance from UK flautist Chip Wickham and Cuban singer Claritzel Miyares.

Afro-Cuban, Afro-Latin, pachanga, guaracha, son montuno, big band salsa – whatever you want to call it, however you want to frame or dissect it – this is deftly played, flagrantly hot-stepping, block-rocking, and seriously swinging Puerto Rican-touched Latin music, with plenty of Tito Puente-inspired timbales and mambo shake. It’s dripping with a kind of groove-based, Latin authenticity that the likes of UK jazz outfit Ezra Collective have been impressing upon its audiences in recent years.

¡Apúntalo! is a catchphrase Carlos “Pachanga” Peña uses in songs during live shows, and it captures the spirit of the record and live show perfectly “get involved, lock into the groove, and make this moment yours”. Whilst the orchestra includes a coro (chorus) Carlos is the leading vocal light on the album.

Olufina is the lead single and is an irrepressible Afro-Cuban mambo, fired by authentic batá drums, punchy call-and-response vocals from Carlos and the full band hitting on all cylinders, with standout horn, vibraphone, and percussion solos built for the dancefloor. The title is a devotional name for Changó, Yoruba orisha of thunder and fire. The track delivers exactly that energy: raw and joyful.

Get a copy of ¡Apúntalo! via Bandcamp right here. Check out "Flauta Pa' Ti" featuring Chip Wickham on flute followed by a list of their UK tour dates below. 

Orchestra Mambo International

Jonny Enright - Musical Director, trombone, coro 

Carlos Peña - Lead vocals, backing vocals, coro 

Chris Williamson - Trumpet

Victor Estevez - Trumpet, coro

Olivia Cuttill - Trumpet

Gustavo Andrade - Baritone saxophone, coro

Andrzej Baranek - Piano

John Settle - Vibraphone

Simon Edwards - Bass

Jimmy Le Messurier - Timbales, batá, guïra, coro

Camilo Ochoa - Bongos, campana, maracas, guïro, hand perc, coro

Sam Bell - Congas, coro

Lubi Jovanovic - Co-founder, manager

Special guest: Chip Wickham (flute) on "Flauta Pa' Ti"

Orchestra Mambo International on tour

18 Sept - Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, United Kingdom  

16 Oct - St Matthew's Church, Leyburn, United Kingdom 

7 Nov - Jazz Cafe, London, United Kingdom  

29 Nov - Old Fire Station, Carlisle, United Kingdom

Rachel Lichtman's Programme 4 television event @ Paradise Theatre, November 12

Video director and graphic designer Rachel Lichtman brings her Programme 4 television event – with guests including Joe Pernice! – to Toronto for one night!

Programme 4 at the Paradise Theatre

with guests: Joe Pernice, Aurora Browne, Kris Siddiqi, Mike Evin

Paradise Theatre (1006c Bloor Street West, Toronto)

Thursday, November 12, 2026

7 pm to 10 pm

Escape to the hilariously switched-on world of Programme 4, the groovy, feature-length “broadcast” from the Botany 500 Age of Television. Transmitting surreal local programming from the wall-to-wall carpeted dimension of Golden Sands — exclusively screened in-person at Toronto's Paradise Theatre for your analog pleasure with Programme 4 creator Rachel Lichtman. Plus special guest stars Joe Pernice, Aurora Browne, Kris Siddiqi and Mike Evin on the Fender Rhodes electric piano! This is simply an unmissable happening! Advance tickets are $28.25... get 'em right here.  

Programme 4 is more than just a collection of too-great-to-be-true TV shows, razor sharp send-ups of local commercials, interstitials and mind-blowing title sequences elevated to their own deserving art forms. From cinemas to star-studded variety showcases, it’s a live, anything-can-happen happening. Featuring special guest stars, Rhodes pianos, musical guests, surprise walk-ons, talk show-style discussions, & more! Programme 4 is unlike anything happening today. It’s an in-person experience that invites you to tune in, turn on and connect with like-minded people in a mellow environment that is conducive to discovering and savouring art with unbroken attention.

Each Programme 4 show is unique, custom-tailored for its host city and featuring local celebs and artists, adding to the local-TV vibe of the Programme 4 “telecasts.” The list of luminaries involved in the switched-on, immersive world of Golden Sands includes Dave Gruber Allen, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mitch Easter, Dave Foley, Jay Gonzalez, Dana Gould, Juliana Hatfield, Bill Janovitz, Mikael Jorgensen, Dag Juhlin, Josh Kantor, Rich Koz, Jon Langford, Ted Leo, Aimee Mann, Michael McKean, Eugene Mirman, Chris Murphy, Joel Murray, Patton Oswalt, Joe Pernice, Michael Penn, Pat Sansone, The Sklar Brothers, Michael Spicer, Tammy Faye Starlite, Kelley Stoltz, Sean Wolcott, Jon Wurster & many more!

Watch the Programme 4 "Make The Scene" Fall Preview trailer followed by an interview with Rachel Lichtman conducted by Mark Caro for Caro Pop below. You can also read Jason Scott's think piece The Browner World: In The Realm of Programme 4 right here. 

B-Side Wins Again: Ñico Saquito y Los Guaracheros de Oriente

Here's Cuban guitar ace Ñico Saquito getting down with Los Guaracheros de Oriente for "El Berrinche de María" from 1949.

Tinariwen postpones entire Canadian tour

Tinariwen – who were going to play the Concert Hall on Sept. 17 – have had to postpone their entire Canadian tour.

Here's the scoop from Tinariwen HQ...

Unfortunately, due to a fire at the home of one of their team members, the travel documents of several members of Tinariwen’s crew and touring party were destroyed.

The team has been doing everything possible to maintain the tour, but despite their best efforts, they are unfortunately now obliged to postpone the current Canadian tour.

We are working quickly with the band and their team to reschedule the shows in the short term, and we will announce the new dates as soon as they are confirmed.

All ticket holders will have the option to hold on to their tickets for the rescheduled date or request a refund.

Tinariwen sincerely apologizes to all of their friends and fans across Canada for this unexpected change. They are doing everything they can to return and perform for you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support.

 

Happy Birthday Peter Zaremba of The Fleshtones!

Cheers to Peter Zaremba on his birthday! We're celebrating with a few of his stage and studio appearances you may have missed. 

Check out Peter sitting in with Miriam Linna on Kicksville ep. 18 on WPKN-FM, archived right here.