Vancouver’s premier Brazilian Forro band, Forro do Cana, was founded in 2018 as a passion project, dedicated to the dissemination of the music of Northeastern Brasil. Think good vibes, killer rhythms and catchy songs!
The core members of the band are a combined powerhouse of musicians from diverse backgrounds coming together in a shared love of Brazilian music and dance. Forming the backbone of Forro do Cana are
Steve Charles (Vancouver)(Viper Central): sanfona (accordion) & vocals
Mario Silva (Sao Paulo)(Brejera): 7-string guitar & vocals
Serena Eades (Vancouver)(Delhi 2 Dublin): violin/rabeca & vocals
Sara Magal (Brasilia)(Escola de Musica de Brasilia)
Liam MacDonald (Vancouver): drums/percussion.
The event will be taking place at Hadden Point (Kits Point, Vancouver), in partnership with Publik Secrets. Bring a picnic, sit on the grass and listen, or get up and dance. 🙂
NOTE: there is limited capacity in order to follow PHO and Vancouver Parks Board guidelines. The event is By Donation, but registration is required to ensure access to the area closest to the performers. However, if registration is full, you can still attend the event, as there is plenty of space in the park, beyond the area closest to the performers.
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ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Vancouver’s premier Brazilian Forro band, Forró do Cana, was founded in 2018 as a passion project, dedicated to the dissemination of the music of Northeastern Brasil. The music of Forró do Cana blends the sounds of the violin (and sometimes the Brazilian fiddle ‘rabeca’) and accordion played by Serena Eades and Steve Charles respectively, with the Brazilian roots of Mario Silva’s 7 string acoustic guitar and Sara Magal’s percussion and Portuguese vocals. A rotating cast of incredible percussionists include Vancouver’s top go-to players of Brazilian music: Liam MacDonald, Celso Machado and Phil Belanger.
For those not familiar with Forró, this is a partner dance with a variety of rhythms and accompanying steps from very intricate and showy to subtle and sensual. A whole family of related rhythms are referred to under the umbrella term Forró: Baião, Forró, Xaxado, Xote and Arrasta pé. Arrasta pé (“drag your foot“) received its name due to the peculiar dancing movement: the soles of the feet drag over the floor with each dance step. Forró is not only the name of the music genre, but a specific rhythm within the genre, as well as the name of the festivity at which its music is played and danced (“Let’s go to the Forró!).
While formed as an ensemble that focused on the traditional Brazilian dance music of Forro, the band quickly realized there was a desire to hear other styles, namely the Northeastern Carnaval music known as Frevo which consists of very fast joyful and almost frenetic ska-like rhythms and melodies. Adding to the complexity of melodies and rhythms, the band also plays a healthy dose of beautiful Brazilian melodic Chorinho.
The band name Forró do Cana is a play on words: Cana meaning sugar cane in Portuguese, which is used to make Caldo de Cana (sugarcane juice), Cachaça (sugarcane liquor), as well as an abbreviation of Canada.
Hadden Park is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Indigenous territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.