April Pittman lead vocals · Aaron Feder guitar · JJ Oliva keys · Eric Mills bass · Gustavo “Tato” Sassone drums
After the successful Afro Dead tour in the USA with the great singer April Pittman, with concerts in Chicago, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Michigan, in legendary venues such as City Winery, Levitt Amp Pavilion, and The Historic Ironwood Theatre, the band returns to their homeland of Barcelona with April Pittman on vocals, Aaron Feder on guitar, JJ Oliva on keyboards, Eric Mills on bass, and Tato Sassone on drums.
Afro Dead reimagines the music of the iconic American psychedelic rock band, The Grateful Dead, in African styles like Afrobeat, Soukous, and High Life. The band’s founder, Aaron Feder, is also the founder of Alma Afrobeat Ensemble (with 4 albums released and several tours across Europe and the USA) and has played with musicians from the “inner circle” of the Dead, including Scott Law (guitarist for Phil Lesh), Peter Rowan (founding member of Old and In the Way with Jerry Garcia), and Eric Krasno (Lettuce, Phil and Friends, and more).
April Pittman is the perfect singer for this musical collective, as her personal and professional history, as well as her status as a highly sought-after session singer and songwriter in Barcelona, where she has lived for the past 5 years, have prepared her for this role in Afro Dead. She regularly performs and records with local and international artists, and she’s a regular singer at venues like Marula Café, Jamboree, and Patrón. She grew up with the music of the Dead and the “jamband” scene in the greater New York metropolitan area, and her musical roots run deep: her great-grandfather was the first Black owner of a jazz club in Trenton, New Jersey, called Pitt’s Place, her grandfather was a founding member of the jazz group Black Panther Black Abyss, and her mother was a founding member of Nasty Girls, one of the first all-female hip-hop groups in New York.
The rest of the band consists of key members of Barcelona’s (and Africa’s) music scene. JJ Oliva is a keyboardist and founding member of Mami Wata (and keyboardist of Alma Afrobeat Ensemble), Eric Mills was part of Afrikemet (Soukous and High Life music), and Tato Sassone is the drummer of Alma Afrobeat Ensemble and has played with other prominent African musicians like Nakany Kanté.
It will be a night of energetic, danceable music, equally exciting for fans of African music and Grateful Dead fans alike!
This concert is for individuals aged +18 years old.
