Drummer Joaquin Santos to honor Juneteenth all month long. Here's his plan.
NEW BEDFORD — Local musician Joaquin Santos is bringing a unique and exciting way to celebrate Juneteenth all month long in the city.
As Juneteenth is a historic day for African Americans, Santos saw it as the perfect opportunity to showcase the talents of local musicians. "I thought to myself, why not showcase our talents on such a profound day for people of color? It's a historic day, and I wanted to celebrate the whole month," he said.
Santos will be performing alongside his band, The Dope Lotus, every Friday in June at Vault at 791 Purchase Street from 8:30 pm to 12:00 am. The series will feature a different lineup each week, with special guests joining The Dope Lotus on stage.
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"We wanted to mix it up and feature a variety of musicians," Santos added. "We'll have Brent Tavares, Danielle Andrews, Seth Woodruff, and many more talented artists performing with us throughout the month."
Following in the footsteps of his legendary father
Santos is no stranger to the music scene in New England. He has toured with several bands and has shared the stage with Grammy-Award winner Tiny Tavares, as well as other notable performers such as Frank Wilkins and Jeff Lockhart.
Santos founded the band Joaquin Santos and Friends, and also runs his own private practice, Jackie's Drums, teaching all over the SouthCoast. In 2019, Santos received the Cape Verdean Recognition Award in New Bedford.
Music runs in his blood, as his father is also the renowned Jackie Santos, who has had a four-decade-long career playing with Motown greats such as The Temptations, Gladys Knight, and Marvin Gaye. He now has two bands of his own, The A List and Spontaneous Combustion.
The Friday Juneteenth series promises to be a vibrant and diverse event, featuring a mix of R&B, neo-soul, jazz, and funk. Santos encourages people to come out and support live music, especially people who haven't yet experiences the Vault stage.
"It's going to be historic for the city. We have musicians coming from Boston, Providence and even New York to celebrate this day with us," he said.
"In a world that's not the best right now, let's come together and support this historic gig and make it a success."
Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter:@ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Joaquin Santos to honor Juneteenth all month long with concert series
