According to the members of the foot-stomping, hip-swinging band Appalatin, their musical journey began something like this:
Two Kentucky-raised musicians happened to individually travel to Central and South America, where they absorbed the culture — especially the music. About the same time, three musicians from Central and South America individually came to the U.S., where they absorbed the culture — especially the music. They all met for the first time in Louisville, Kentucky, and began playing music together (eventually adding to their diverse lineup by bringing on an Aussie bassist). Their respective styles blended into a sound they call Appalatin, a mix of Appalachian folk and Latin music.
In 2006, they started out playing a weekly show at a local coffee shop for free coffee; since then, they’ve performed at some of the region’s most prestigious venues, released acclaimed studio albums, and shared a stage with the likes of Sam Bush and Ben Sollee. 91.9 WFPK radio host Laura Shine called Appalatin “one of the most unique bands in our city,” adding “we are so lucky to call them ‘ours,’ even though they belong to the world at large.”
Appalatin’s all-acoustic performances blend traditional guitar, mandolin, upright bass, charango, indigenous Andean flutes, hand percussion, harmonica and vocal harmonies. They’ll bring this magic to the 𝟮𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘀, where they’ll perform an evening of music at Kentucky Performing Arts on 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗡𝗼𝘃. 𝟭𝟰, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. Check out the full schedule + get your festival pass.