Secret Planet, Western Mass

16/05/2025

This Saturday at the Drake in Amherst — FRENTE CUMBIERO is back, led by Bogota cumbia godfather Mario Galeano (Ondatropica, Los Pirañas). Their forward-thinking Bogota avant-cumbia grinds traditional genres from Colombia like cumbia, vallenato, porro, caracolito, and gaita through their experimental altiplano cloud factory. Transforming a raw stew of synths, horns and percussion into powerhouse creative dance music — tropicanibalismo — Frente presents the past, present and future of Latin American folk sounds. The band has a new album out now called “Inconcreto & Asociados” with all new jams for you.

We’ve had a steady stream of top-tier Colombian music through the Valley this past year — you might be wondering how & why…

We have to give tons of credit to my colleagues in the Secret Planet network (DC, Pittsburgh, State College, Richmond, NYC) 👏 As a regional collaborative crew of northeast presenters, we have some great relationships with the Bogota music scene and these bands are coming to visit us on the regs!!! It’s an honor to have Northampton as part of this circuit.

We're no less thrilled to share that our dear friends Mica & Manu (Argentina/Ashfield) will be kicking the night off with their own trad-to-the-future interpretations of Argentinean genres like chamame, chacarera, murga, y candombe. Their family moved here from Argentina in January to work at Double Edge Theatre and they've been working on a set for you — so if you’re pulling up on Sat, PLEASE come early and catch the opening set by these maestros. You won’t regret it.

DJ SHAKI, our New Haven brother from another mother, swings up with all the vinyl goodies. He starts right at 7PM and will keep the room grooving between sets. (He DJ’d the Etran de L’Aïr show last September at the Grange, if you recall that one!)

Saturday May 17 — Doors 7PM / SHOW 8PM
ADV $22 / Doors $25 OR SP TOKEN
WATCH Frente: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX5aG8sXq64�WATCH Mica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srwp88aX8PA
TICKETS: https://www.tixr.com/groups/thedrake/events/frente-cumbiero-134332
SP MEMBER RSVP: https://www.secretplanet.live/frente2

08/05/2025

Secret Planet is back in action this week with a double-header in E’ho on Saturday night ✨

LOBOKO is delicious, guitar-driven Congolese soukous; the kind of happy rump-shake music that feels like it’s constantly falling forward into something beautiful — a trance-y infection for dancing and smiling.

LOLLISE sits in with the band on backing vocals! And also plays her own set — a kinetic fusion of Kalanga folk, soukous and afrobeat with art-pop and electronic bubblegum.

Selector Tomás twines all this goodness together with all-African vinyl before, between, and after the live sets, with a heavy emphasis on funk and disco.
�
This one will be super fun 🔥

MAY 10 AT THE Marigold Theater EASTHAMPTON
doors + dj 7PM
🎟️: www.secretplanet.live/lobokolollise

17/04/2025

What makes the Horse the Horse? Roof raisers like this, definitely… 😍 Some shots from April 4 courtesy of Darren Port from Red Baraat & Los Pirañas. Thanks to both bands for throwing it down so very, very hard for Northampton on a Friday night.

11/04/2025

THIS SATURDAY! MORE LOVE finally sets sail at De La Luz in Holyoke: a new club night exploring the past, present and future of dance music across a broadening spectrum of genres — from disco to dembow, afrobeats to amapiano — a diverse and expanding palette of sounds, beats, and languages.

We launch it this Saturday with MORE LOVE’s resident beatmaker Deejay Theory as well as Razor-n-Tape’s PRINCE OF QUEENS (also a member of Combo Chimbita). From 8 until late. Global dance energy from all over the planet. Bring whatever’s hurting and we’ll throw it in the fire together.

This is an all ages event. There will be a full bar and the cafe will be open serving snacks throughout the night.

Tickets $15 adv / $20 door
2-for-1 for Secret Planet members before 9PM

www.secretplanet.live/morelove1

01/04/2025

Spicy show coming up this Friday —

Red Baraat brings their Festival of Colors to town and they're back at the Iron Horse for the first time in years.

And just added to the bill, Los Pirañas (members of Meridian Brothers, Frente Cumbiero, Romperayo) will be opening up for them. (They hit right at 7PM so get there early)

Member rsvp: www.secretplanet.live/satellites
Tickets for non-members: https://theparlorroom.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/ #/events/a0SV5000004vD4fMAE

25/03/2025

Great write up of our recent SP show (Paolo Angeli & Nathaniel Braddock) from a new member — thanks Álvaro!

https://micokoch.github.io/me/blog.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJO54ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHazKtSuaNUxsDNzI08GjjfxB8dOmN1I0lNr38IgBOWlgl522EpvWZSV4qg_aem_lwomA4ZlwejQTmpiA7ujIQ -angeli

Scattered intermittent thoughts and notes

20/03/2025

this saturday — paolo angeli. 3/22 @ the drake

PAOLO. The last time I presented him here, late 2021, was a very difficult time to tour. He hadn’t been back to the US in awhile — and that particular moment, late COVID, was a very challenging moment to find new listeners.

As far as mostly sit-down contemplative music went that year, his set was absolutely a highlight for me. It was something of an incantation — in what was then a dark moment. His performance was mostly improvised, and informed by many bodies of music (Sardinian folk, flamenco, minimalism, jazz, and classical to name a few).

Paolo is old school. He brings a Da Vinci-like creativity to his custom-assembled guitar, using mechanical methods rather than an electronic looper to layer sound organically. It’s a wonder to the eyes as well as the ears: a hybrid orchestra of an instrument with strings going in all directions, foot-pedal-controlled motorised propellers, hammers to create shimmering drones, and bass-lines as he bows, strikes, plucks and strums.

I’m looking forward to seeing the newest version of his guitar-cello — he’s added 7 strings since last time, as well as other mechanical marvels — but mostly I’m looking forward to the invocation.

It is a difficult moment again, in ways I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. Paolo’s sort of music, that calls us to attention in the present moment with its wonder, inquisitiveness and curiosity — offers a certain kind of medicine and solace.

— edo

✨ www.secretplanet.live/paolo

13/03/2025

Unmissable, essential show — Paolo Angeli is here from Barcelona, manually magicking beautiful, multi-layered music from a uniquely prepared guitar — a hard-to-classify sound drawing from traditional Sardinian folkways, free jazz, flamenco, arabesques, post-rock, and pre-everything. Nathaniel Braddock opens with African and American finger style guitar, pitched in the musical air somewhere between John Fahey and Ali Farka Toure.

Sat. Mar 22.
Doors 7PM, Show 8PM.
$22/$25.
ℹ️ Secret Planet Presents: Paolo Angeli + Nathaniel Braddock
🎟️ www.secretplanet.live/paolo

06/03/2025

Tired of neo-fascist strongmen waddling around with their long, stupid ties and sycophantic sidemen? Sick of being bullied by corrupt, psychopathic oligarchs with mommy issues? Dreading that your country may have elected a Russian asset for president?

Hey, you’re not alone. Lucky for us, Underground System is pulling up this weekend with the sort of playful, subversive fun we could all use right about now. Here’s a recent clip — “Heads of State” — an ode to sh*tty political leaders of past and present. Dance punk post-afrobeat electro-disco for the 99.9% ⚡️⚡️⚡️

Underground System plays Saturday night at Race Brook Lodge with a whole entourage of other killer performers: LA LULU, BIGYUKI, BUSQUELO, and a late night dj set by bandleaders PETER MATSON and BONI TRAXTON 🙌
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCKu5Npy8Q

tickets: www.secretplanet.live/weekender2

Written by Peter Matson & Domenica FossatiProduced by Peter Matson & Abe Seiferth Mixed by Abe Seiferth Mastered by Joe Lambert Video by Chris EganDomenica -...

04/03/2025

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Make way for KOKOKO! ⚡️⚡️⚡️
This Friday at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, MA as part of the Almost Spring Weekender. DJ sets by DEEJAY THEORY and MODRUMS (Morgan Greenstreet). Dance till u drop ✨

⚡️ www.secretplanet.live/weekender2 ⚡️