Bring your dancing shoes for Vox Sambou's show at The Myrna Loy in Helena.
“Just make sure people bring their sneakers to dance,” urges Vox Sambou when talking about his upcoming concert at The Myrna Loy in Helena. The band makes its only Montana appearance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7. “Wear something comfortable,” the musician advises.
Sambou’s music is a joyous fusion of traditional Haitian rhythms, funk, reggae and hip-hop, making for an irresistible invitation to dance. He writes and sings in Creole, French, English, Spanish and Portuguese, and says he learns new languages so he can collaborate with the musicians he meets.
At The Myrna Loy, he and his band will be sharing music from their new album, Forever, and songs from a new EP, The Right to Leave.
“Different people enjoy music differently,” he says. “Most of the time it’s really an interaction with the audience. That’s what we love. We love this dialog, this engagement with the audience.”
Right to Leave is about the Pan-Africanism movement and a connection to Jamaican activist
Marcus Garvey, but also connects to the protest song, “The Right to Live in Peace” by revered Chilean folk singer Victor Jara who was assassinated by Pinochet’s junta.
“At the same time we are dancing, let’s also be mindful of what’s going on in the world and what we can do to make each other’s lives better,” says Sambou, who exudes an irrepressible spirit of joy and optimism.
Despite what’s happening in his homeland of Haiti, and in the world, and dealing with two years of a pandemic, the joy still comes through.
Music has been his life ever since he was a teenager growing up in Limbé, Haiti. Miraculously, “I’m the seventh child in a very large family and I’m the only one who plays music,” he says with an infectious smile.
He’s performed across North America, France, Chile, Brazil, Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso, Colombia, Morocco and Spain. This marks the group’s first trip to Montana.
“We can’t wait to discover and meet the people.”
Tickets are $25 and available at 15 N. Ewing St. or online. For more information, call 406-443-0287.