Luna Rumba Productions is all about celebrating exquisite sound. On Sunday at the beautiful grounds of Los Arroyos Verdes, Geo Uhrich and his musicians offered us an evening of eclectic music with stirring vocals, fiery violin, rumba-flamenco guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, and exotic percussion instruments. Their award-winning, world-music style enthralled and excited the audience beyond expectations as it was superbly delivered by incredibly accomplished and creative musicians.
I am always impressed beyond my expectations, with each and every Luna Rumba Production Concert that I attend. The joy of experiencing the singing, playing and the creative musical expression is every music lover’s dream. Many of you probably attended one of last season’s Moonlight Concerts and know what an experience each show provided. There was just one Moonlight Show this season on the gorgeous grounds of Los Arroyos Verdes in Bucerias and it didn’t disappoint. As the moon rose behind the stage, we witnessed a world music extravaganza.
For Geo, the founder and leader of Luna Rumba, the 2020 season has been about exploring the musical impressions that came about as he and Fernanda sailed around the Mediterranean, along with making heartfelt tributes to great musicians/composers, like Willie Royal of Willie & Lobo, who he so admired. In this music, Geo explored his travels in Africa, the Med and Turkey and how it has influenced his music. His songs were inspired by these travel experiences.
To begin the evening, Geo Uhrich, presented his original and extraordinary solo performance, ‘Tribal Dance.’ In his introduction, he descriptively explained his role as that of a painter, who paints the background and then fills in the foreground to make his musical creations come to life. To do this, Geo took each of his original songs and used ‘looping’ technology to add instruments from guitars, violin, mandolin, and percussion to create the sound of many. All inspired from his travels abroad to fascinating destinations, the music included a blend of Latin Fusion, Gypsy Flamenco, Arabic Melodies and Latin Jazz.
We heard “Red Moon, White Star,” an inspiration of his travels in Turkey and the beautiful natural world that he experienced in this incredible country. His song, “Burning,” was a soulful lament of all the fires burning around the world. “Look to the East,” was a tribute to the Syrian refuges that he saw on an island in Greece. “She Dance” was a gypsy style creation that was celebrated with audience enthusiasm and participation. And to wrap up his solo presentation, Geo performed a very moving version of Leonard Cohen’s, “Hallelujah.”
After an intermission, “A Force of 3,” took the stage, featuring the multi-talented Geo Uhrich on violin, the amazingly gifted guitarist Eduardo Leon and percussionist extraordinaire Danny Renteria. Throughout their performance, the audience exploded in cheering and applause as the music captured our hearts and souls, with music honoring the legacy of Willie & Lobo, along with past Luna Rumba favorites.
Halfway through their performance, “A Force of 3” was joined by past Luna Rumba members, Luis Rascon on cello and percussion, Alex Gonzales on percussion and Lilly Alcantara on percussion and dance. Together they performed Luna Rumba songs, along with mixing in new energy and inspiration from Geo’s travels in Africa and the Mediterranean. With accompanying vocals, fiery violin, rumba-Flamenco guitar, fabulous dance, and exotic percussion instruments, their world music style enthralled and excited. It was clearly a love affair between the music with all its beauty, creativity, and unique sound and the audience who loved every moment.
We heard songs like, “Fandango Nights,” Salsa Verde,” “El Nino,” “Amsterdam” (from Willie Royal), “El Faro” and more. The night was mostly instrumental with a few vocals. From start to finish we were captivated by each exquisite sound. Clearly, every member of the group demonstrated, once again, that they are each superbly accomplished musicians in their own right. And Lilly’s beautiful interpretive dance added another level of creativity and depth to the show.
The evening ended with Geo’s award-winning world music hit, “Espirtu de Amor” as the audience exploded with cheering and applause in appreciation of such a fantastic night.
This season Luna Rumba Productions continues to offer the very best of ‘World Music’ presenting one of the finest musical shows available around the Bay with “Tribal Dance” and “A Force of 3”. Performing to a sold-out audience of over 300, with the moon rising in the background, this was a magical night to remember. And a special word of thanks and appreciation goes out to Fernanda and Carla for organizing this concert and helping to make it the wonderful night of entertainment that people thoroughly enjoyed. And also thank you to Lupe for hosting the event at her beautiful Los Arroyos Verdes.
There is one more opportunity to see ‘Tribal Dance’ and ‘A Force of 3’ together this season. The Banderas Bay Music Festival on March 10 & 11, will feature both shows again along with other outstanding musical acts. For more information about this festival on the beautiful grounds of Los Arroyos Verdes in Bucerias, go to www.lunarumba.com.
‘An Intimate Night with Geo and ‘Tribal Dance’ will also take place at the Black Forest Restaurant in La Cruz on Feb 26 & Mar 25 at 8 pm. For information and reservations, call 322-120-6901.
And ‘Rockin’ Fusion Blues’ with Geo & Friends featuring Chas Eller will happen at Oso Resturant in La Cruz on Feb 19 & Mar 4 & 8. For reservations, call 329-298-295-5426.
Luna Rumba Productions is all about celebrating exquisite sound. On Sunday at the beautiful grounds of Los Arroyos Verdes, Geo Uhrich and his musicians offered . . .
