Named after its founder, Richard A. Morse, RAM brings voudou to mizik rasin (“roots music”) like no other Haitian band. Which is to say, their performances are like a ritual and a party all at once; a kind of mystical celebration. And a big party needs a big room, so we’re back at Union Station for this all-killer, no-filler Caribbean edition of the World Music Collider.

RAM is all of Haiti, all at once. It is deeply ancestral: steeped in voudou; layered in African polyrhythms; and symphonized with the ceremonial one-note calls of the rara horns. And it is also earnestly present in history: funky, political, electric, multi-generational, and as much on the street as it is on the stage. The group has been squarely at the center of Haitian music since the late 90s -- but only in the past decade and with their two most recent releases, they are really taking off.

Also joining us from Brooklyn is a BRAND, NEW tropical supergroup called COMBO LULO, with members from Antibalas, the Skatalites, The Easy Star All-Stars, and Low Mentality. They’re so new even Brooklyn hasn’t heard of them yet, but the minute we put our ears to their mongrel compositions of ethio-jazz + dub reggae, cumbia + rocksteady, we knew they were the perfect complement to RAM.

That's two Valley debuts in one night, and a tropical journey from the iconic roots of reggae to the future-past of Haiti's rich island culture: COMBO LULO'S heavy horn orchestra draws from afrobeat, Afro-Latin rhythms, and deep Jamaican foundations; RAM's rara horn ensemble, coupled with Ebo and Kongo drumming, are the deeply authentic sounds brought from West Africa by the first generation of Haitian slaves and marinated in the Creole traditions of the island.

Have you been wondering why these Colliders are numbered?

Its because each is completely without precedent. Yup, you don't want to miss this one either. Join us at the tip-top of your Memorial Day Weekend for a singular Tropics-meets-Western Mass experience.

The Union Station Ballroom is handicapped accessible, right off the bicycle trail, and has a range of wine & dine options. An internal hallway connects the Tunnel Bar so you can even order a cocktail and bring it back up to the ballroom with you.

Tickets are $20 advance and $25 at the door. Children under 12 free.

Vox Sambou is a Montreal-based MC and activist has been called “the eternal voice of Haiti,” a “Haitian hip hop ambassador” and a “key figure on the progressive front of the Rap Kreyòl movement.” He takes the traditional rhythms of Haiti and adds afrobeat, jazz, reggae, and hip-hop -- always with a commitment to denounce injustices and build awareness about social imbalance.

On this first Friday in June, he’s bringing his afrobeat big-band to the Bay State for the very first time for what may be the sleeper show of the year at New City Brewery. Seriously. With Food Truck Friday happening in the lot and this hard-hitting Canadian ensemble amped to make you love them at first sound -- you know that its going to be legit.

[“My Rhythm”: VIDEO] [Angelitos VIDEO]

“Vox's music encapsulates the very things that make Montreal’s music scene unique: it is multi-ethnic, multilingual and multicultural in nature.”  Noisey

Local soul jazz favorites The Boogalistics start us off at 8PM sharp.

The Brewery is handicapped accessible and all ages are welcome. Children 12 and under free. Tickets are $15 adv, $20 at the door (available online until two hours before door). Thanks to our series sponsors Dean’s Beans, there will be $10 student tickets available at the door with ID. Very, very limited seating.

Our Planetary Party series is made possible in part by our series sponsors and go-to coffee roasters Dean’s Bean’s Organic Coffee Company!

They’re back, people. On the heels of their first US tour last fall, the marimba super-group from Ecuador and Colombia is state-side this Summer to share their old-school Afro-Caribbean vibes with us again. For the second year in a row, we’re setting up the sweetest pre-Solstice party you can imagine on Valley View Farm -- quite possibly the loveliest venue in the Valley. And this time we’re moving the party outside to the open-air barn and patio for the full immersive Solstice/hilltown/bonfire experience.

Did you catch RIO MIRA headlining last year’s World Music Super Collider? Formed by artists across borders in a region connected by a shared history and African slave roots, the celebratory spirit of this socially conscious music is undeniably infectious. The UNESCO-recognized musical tradition channels the Cimarrones’ history of self-realised liberation and post-nationalistic awareness of self. It is bigger than any country, as long and broad as its riverine namesake, and it ripples back through the centuries with its call-and-response vocals, drums, shakers, hand-claps, and the joyous sound of the marimba itself.

Little Trúc will be doing a special AREPAS pop-up to round out this pristine LatAm experience on the New England hilltop. Arepas are a Pre-Columbian maize (corn) pancakes layered with cheese & vegetables -- ubiquitous street food in Venezuela and Colombia. Food service begins at 6PM and ticketholders are invited to come even earlier if they choose to hike the network of trails and enjoy an entire afternoon/evening on the Farm.

Live video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acigV1T48lA

The origin of the band: https://youtu.be/SYHZRyNmSXU

And yes, for all the bike people!! The Friends of Northampton Trails & Greenways is organizing a group ride up to the farm on the NOHO-Burgy bike trail -- more details to come.

In partnership with ILI, the International Language Institute of Massachusetts. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door (no ticketing fees so get them in advance!). $10 Youth/Student tickets (bring ID) available at the door. Children 12 and under free as always. RAIN OR SHINE -- the event will move indoors if the weather does not cooperate.

Its July 3rd and you don’t have work in the morning, so make sure you don’t miss Combo Chimbita’s Valley debut in Easthampton. Now signed with the legendary ANTI- Records label for their second release Ahomale, this quartet of Colombian NYers is one of the hardest-hitting groups we’ve seen in years. Powerhouse vocalist Carolina Oliveros forges a path through thick jungles of psychadelic funk and trance; what the band calls Tropical Futurism or Cumbia-Not-Cumbia.

The band draws on “traditional music from everywhere: Panama, Caribbean, Colombia, tamboritos, ‘70s funaná from Cape Verde, kompa from Haiti, cumbia, dub and reggae from Jamaica. We try to incorporate it in a way that if feels ours, so you hear these influences there but they come from our background, and our background is heavy rock, psychedelic funk and soul,” says guitarist Niño Lento.

[VIDEO: Cachimba] [VIDEO: Pajarito]

Special guests Billy Wylder add their stirring synthesis of desert blues & spirited folk to this summer party.

Tickets are $12 adv, $15 at the door. Children 12 and under free. Thanks to our series sponsors Dean’s Beans, there will be $10 student tickets available at the door with ID.

Our Dean’s Bean’s Planetary Party cycle is made possible in part by our series sponsors and go-to coffee roasters Dean’s Bean’s!

Brazilian singer-songwriter Sessa is already a fixture in the New York and São Paolo music scenes -- as collaborator with guitar legend Yonatan Gat and co-founder of psych-rockers Garotas Suecas -- but he joins us this July in downtown Northampton with a different proposition: his stunning debut project Grandeza.

His songs are sung in Portuguese, with visceral, sensual lyrics in the vein of Caetano Veloso, and the melodic flourishes of Jobim. However, the music gets a deliberate minimalist treatment rarely found in contemporary Brazilian music, more reminiscent of the bareness of Leonard Cohen, with touches of tropicalia and free jazz.

Historic Northampton opens its summer season of free concerts to the public with this very special guest from Brazil, accompanied by three vocalists and a percussionist. Join us downtown for a sultry summer experience and a new subtle direction for Brazilian pop -- retracing a spaciousness in its own music that seems to have been there all along.

FREE TO THE PUBLIC. Gates open at 6pm for picnicking. Show starts at 7PM @ Historic Northampton in Downtown NOHO.

Co-produced with Historic Northampton and in partnership with ChoroCamp and the International Language Institute of Massachusetts (ILI).

The Nigerien band Tal National represents one of the most important cultural crossroads of modern Africa. The band’s members comprise Songhai, Fulani, Hausa, and Tuareg communities: different tribes co-inhabiting the former French colony and each with their own songs, traditions and languages. In the music we hear the rolling 12/8 rhythms in the Hausa's Fuji percussion, the pensive aridity of the Tuareg's assouf or "blues,” and the exquisite "griot guitar" of Mali's Songhai, all delivered with virtuoso precision and unrelenting energy.

But fundamentally, they’re a rock n’ roll band.  Here’s Rolling Stone: “Tal National play rollicking, dizzying, high-octane grooves with the joie de vivre of afrobeat and highlife, but have a hard-rocking polyrhythmic tumble reminiscent of experimental rock bands like Battles, Horse Lords and Tortoise.”

Its a thrill and an honor to host them in the Valley as they swing through the US for another blistering run in 2019.

If you like: Desert blues; Bombino; West African guitar; ecstatic, high-energy sets; bands that can play for hours.

Tickets: $12 adv, $15 at the door. Children 12 and under free. Thanks to our series sponsors Dean’s Beans, there will be $10 student tickets available at the door with ID.

Our Dean’s Bean’s Planetary Party cycle is made possible in part by our series sponsors and go-to coffee roasters Dean’s Bean’s!