“We’ve
always had a bunch of different influences just because we are in New York and
everyone in the band has their own inspirations that they bring to the table,”
Underground System singer and flutist Domenica Fossati told Rolling Stone in 2022. And on August 9, the party-making outfit will bring their eclectic
fusion of Afrobeat, dance punk, disco, funk, and electronic music to Unicorn Bar.
After
releasing 2011’s The B.O.B. EP (Bootyshake Outbreak), Underground System
unveiled the “Bella Ciao” single in 2014 (a remix version arrived in 2016) and
a 2018 split single with Midnight Magic. The Brooklyn-based band’s full-length debut
came in 2018 with What Are You, and they were featured in Billboard and on NPR/PRI and completed a successful first US tour; 2019’s Just a Place
(Remixes) EP followed. Last year brought the highly danceable singles “Devotion”
and “Heads of State,” and between shows the group is currently working on
its second album.
“It
was a show I’ll never forget,” says Unicorn owner Francesca Hoffman about the
first time she caught Underground System live. “It was one of the first (and
only) times I’ve seen a flutist perform in this sort of capacity, as the front
person for a big world music party band. My flute brain sort of exploded. I
chatted with Domenica after the show, and resolved to bring Underground System to
Kingston, at some point, someday… and now that day is here.”
Underground
System will perform two sets at Unicorn Bar in Kingston on August 9 starting at
8pm. A dance party with DJ Busquelo will follow the show. Tickets are $25 in
advance and $30 at the door.
This article appears in August 2025.
