Musica Fresca

Put together by music-industry biggies Gary Kurfirst (Talking Heads, Jane's Addiction, the Ramones) and Chris Blackwell (Bob Marley, U2), Musica Fresca is a Latin-fusion showcase with Akwid (hip-hop), Yerba Buena (Latin funk), Voltio (reggaet—n) and Santana faves Radio Mundial (Latin rock). The biggest draw on the bill is Akwid, made up of brothers Sergio and Francisco Gomez. The pair made news a few years ago when they burst onto the Latin music scene with their own brand of a banda-meets-rap style of hip-hop -- think Spanglish rap laid over a Mexican brass band. Their 2003 CD, Proyecto Akwid, introduced national audiences to the new sound and earned the brothers a Grammy nomination, going platinum along the way. Since then, the brothers have been busy, recording and touring constantly. This year will see four Akwid releases, ESL in October, Still Kickin' Itwith Jae-P, Live in Japan and Dos en Uno, a rerelease of two lesser-known pre-Proyecto Akwid albums. Along with Yerba Buena, Voltio and Radio Mundial, Akwid is on the leading edge of Latin fusion. The Musica Fresca tour features a battle of the bands with local groups performing before the show (the groups had not been confirmed at press time).