Overview:
The 12-piece Brooklyn band will appear at Levon Helm Studios on April 3.
Spring is here and it’s time to dance. And April 3 will bring the perfect setting in which to swing those hips when Brooklyn-based Afrobeat greats Antibalas take the funky party to Levon Helm Studios.
Inspired by the master Fela Kuti, Antibalas was founded in 1997 by leader and multi-instrumentalist Martin Perna. Since debuting on record with 2000’s Liberation Afrobeat, the collective has gone on to perform all around the world and release eight more albums, the most recent being 2025’s Hourglass, on the mighty Daptone label. Using Afrobeat as a jumping-off point, Antibalas (“bulletproof” in Spanish) also incorporates jazz, funk, Latin, soul, dub, and traditional Cuban and West African drumming. In 2008, the band’s profile rose considerably when they were the featured accompanists in the hit Broadway musical “Fela!”
Members of the percussion-and-horn-heavy 12-piece ensemble have also recently collaborated/performed with Iron and Wine, Sharon Jones and theDap-Kings, Mark Ronson, TV on the Radio, and the Roots. In 2021, the outfit was nominated for a Grammy for Best Global Music Album for that year’s Fu Chronicles.
Antibalas will perform at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock on April 3 at 8pm. Tickets are $52 seated and $41 standing room. https://levonhelm.com/
