Alex Cuba • Sep 6 • 7:30 PM • Free

Alex Cuba is a Grammy/Latin Grammy and Juno winning singer-songwriter/producer and musician, born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa, Cuba. He was immersed in music at a very young age, joining his father’s (guitarist and teacher Valentin Puentes) group of 24 guitarists. Alex went on to study electric and upright bass, touring and recording nationally and internationally. His sound is the unique confluence of tradition and global influences in articulate arrangements that convey emotions through melody and lyric. In 2022 he won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop for Mendó as producer, artist and engineer. His musical evolution for years was all about searching for the simplicity and soul in Cuban music – taking apart the complex arrangements, mixing it with North American influences, adopting the melodic simplicity of pop music, looking to Cuban folk traditions for inspiration – he’s always exploring, always creating something fresh and new, and always, it seems, getting it just right.

. — “If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might have been something close to the great Vance Gilbert.” ~ Richmond Magazine . Vance Gilbert defies stereotypes. It’s little wonder then that he also exceeds expectations. In this case, those two qualities go hand in hand. “I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” Gilbert insists. That may be a broad statement, but it rings with truth. What he does do is make memorable music, as evidenced by the 13 albums he’s released so far. He’s recorded with his good friend Ellis Paul and shared stages worldwide with Aretha Franklin, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, the Milk Carton Kids, George Carlin (150+ shows), Anita Baker, the Subdudes, Paul Reiser and any number of others.