Join us  for the acclaimed Afro-Carribean band. Rain location: Union Episcopal Church. Bring your own chair or blanket. This event is a collaboration with Claremont Parks and Recreation.

This program is supported in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

The Garifuna Collective from Belize has begun a New England tour, running June 30th through June 20th including 12 concerts, all in New England, aside from a stop in London Ontario for the prestigious Sunfest. The band, renowned for their captivating performances and powerful celebration of Garifuna culture, has performed on major festival stages around the world, and their upcoming tour includes stops in notably smaller communities across New England including with the West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts in Claremont, NH. Audiences can expect an enchanting journey through Garifuna traditions as the Collective presents their unique sound that spans traditional songs, modern compositions, and vibrant reinterpretations of classic Garifuna melodies.

Hailing from the Caribbean coast of Central America, the Garifuna people are descendants of West African, Indigenous Arawak, and Carib peoples, with a rich history of resilience, cultural preservation, and musical expression.The Garifuna language was designated by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2001.

In addition to the inspiring performances, the Garifuna Collective’s tour will offer educational workshops and various opportunities for cultural exchange, fostering a deeper understanding of the Garifuna people, their heritage, and their ongoing contributions to the world of music. The tour was funded in a large part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies. The NEST Grant has allowed a diverse array of community organizations to host the artists for a tour of free or sliding scale accessible concerts through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Of the 12 stops on their tour, 7 nonprofit organizations have received support from NEFA to support the tour.

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“The meeting point where ancient meets modern, this music stretches forward defying the listener to pin it down. Whatever people mean about music being universal, surely that is the perfect demonstration of their argument.”

– The Observer (UK).

Based in Belize, The Garifuna Collective are one of the most unique Afro-Caribbean bands on the planet. As representatives of the Garifuna people – a separate language and culture group spread across several countries in Central America – they harness the indomitable energy of their African and Indigenous ancestors, generating an irrepressible, positive energy every time they perform.

They have created feverish dance floors in over 30 countries across 5 continents and have been part of the most celebrated world music releases of all time, including the critically acclaimed Wátina – recipient of the Womex and BBC World Music Award and voted by Amazon as the Number One World Music Album of All Time.