Skip to content
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Derek
    • Gary
    • Halley/Celeste
    • Paul
    • Ricky
    • Vik
  • Concerts
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Venue
    • Movies
    • Year End Reviews
  • Festivals
    • Canadian Music Week
    • Hot Docs
    • North By Northeast
    • Planet in Focus
    • Primavera
    • South By Southwest
  • Contact Us
Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Derek
    • Gary
    • Halley/Celeste
    • Paul
    • Ricky
    • Vik
  • Concerts
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Venue
    • Movies
    • Year End Reviews
  • Festivals
    • Canadian Music Week
    • Hot Docs
    • North By Northeast
    • Planet in Focus
    • Primavera
    • South By Southwest
  • Contact Us

Concert Review: Sofia Rei, January 5, Millennium Stage

Posted on
6 Jan 2012
by
halley

Washington DC – The Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC has a free show every day of the calendar year. When you put on 365 free shows in 365 days, the quality of said performances are necessarily going to differ widely. Well, I’m happy to report the Stage is off to a good start in 2012, hosting a brilliant performance by Argentinian musician/singer/songwriter Sofia Rei on January 5th.

Sofia’s sound is just magical. It immediately evokes her South American origins – throaty, exotic, lively and a little folksy. Her actual voice is a force that puts pop singers’ tinny and overly-synthesized vocals to shame. I literally had to close my eyes to listen to it – just so I wouldn’t be distracted by the duller people, sounds, décor, etc. in the room. She sang a variety of songs that she wrote herself, including one called “La Gallera” which she said was inspired by her experience watching rooster fights in Peru. She also sang one or two songs taken from her knowledge of traditional folk music, including “La Ilorona” as well as a few songs she adapted from other South American singer/song-writers, including “El Tamalito” by Andres Soto. All her songs were in Spanish (which I can neither speak nor understand) but the language barrier didn’t even register in terms of enjoyment – the vocals and instruments were just beautiful.

Sofia was definitely the star of the show – sporting a beautiful summertime, open-backed gown, as well as fun summer accoutrements such as an armband and big colorful hoop earrings – but her band was also exceptionally talented. She was supported by three musicians, Eric Kurimski on guitar, Edward Perez on bass, and Yayo Serka on drums. All great.

Sofia was definitely out of my ‘normal’ music league but I was so happy I got to see her. I would definitely recommend checking her out if you have a moment to spare.

Sofia Rei “Las Cáscaras” by lilihousemusic

PrevPrevious2011, The Final Recap. Top 10 Albums, Songs, Foods, Travel, Writers
NextSong of the Day: Michael Kiwanuka – Home AgainNext

SEARCH

FOLLOW US

Facebook Twitter Flickr Foursquare Rss Inbox

THE PAST

Archives

TAGS

Tags
British Music Embassy (10) Canadian Music Fest (11) canadian music week (18) cmf (10) cmw (40) concert (9) el mocambo (9) fringe (26) Great Lake Swimmers (10) guelph (9) horseshoe tavern (23) hot docs (99) jazz (12) Joel Plaskett (10) jukebox the ghost (15) lee's palace (27) marina and the diamonds (10) Massive Attack (10) mod club (12) NXNE (94) of monsters and men (11) Phoenix (15) play reviews (11) Pulp (11) Roskilde Festival (16) rural alberta advantage (10) sharon van etten (10) suede (12) summerworks (34) SXSW (479) SXSW 2022 (11) SXSW 2024 (11) SXSW Online (18) the antlers (11) the cure (9) the national (10) the xx (11) Tokyo Police Club (9) Toronto (25) toronto fringe (14) Toronto Jazz Festival (55) turf (13) tweeview (10) Video (9) zeus (10)
The Panic Manual

We are a collective of individuals bringing you the latest in concert reviews, indie, britpop, Canadian, twee and all sorts of other music, movies, tv and everything else you like. Follow the manual to live a pleasant and fulfilling life.

All rights reserved