WOMADelaide Saturday: Quarter Street Share Their Gritty Salsa Grooves @ Botanic Park – Festival Review

Adelaide Botanic Park - Stage 3, Sat 12 Mar, Saturday early afternoon WOMADelaide crowds eager for a dance would have been thrilled to witness the gritty salsa grooves of Quarter Street. Seeing the audience flock from their chilled out spots lying down under a tree to the front of the stage must be a fantastic occurrence for a band and instant gratification to know you are giving them just what they want. Hailing from Melbourne, Quarter Street is inspired by the raw sound from New York’s Latin Quarter in the 1970s – it’s the hard pulse of the mean streets. They aim to create true salsa dura they would have listened to on their parent’s records who fled to Australia away from the various coups and revolutions in Latino-America. This heavy salsa band is led by Sergio Botero who is a charismatic front man comfortable in getting his feet moving and his voice fits the genre seamlessly. Sergio is supported by three horn players, one keyboard, one bass and four musicians on drums, bongos and various other percussion instruments. The horns stood out nicely making their presence known and Andrew James on keys and Luis Poblete on bongos got their solo moments to shine. With one more show on Monday, there is still an opportunity to listen to Quarter Street’s unique sound and practice your salsa dancing. Bobby Goudie WOMADelaide continues at Adelaide Botanic Park from 11am until Mon 14 Mar. Book at BASS or www.adelaidefestival.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. Image courtesy of Bobby Goudie