Spotlight Series: SuperSones
Pier 62 | Free
Thursday May 25, 2023, 5–7 pm
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Listen to sublime music known as Cuban Son, the highly danceable music from the Cuban Countryside that inspired modern Salsa music.
All ages welcomeSuperSones play the sublime music known as Son – the acoustic dance music of the Cuban countryside that inspired modern Salsa. Son is a unique blend of Spanish guitars and harmony, Afro-Cuban percussion and swing, call-and-response singing, and trumpet improvisation. From the 1930’s in Havana to the present moment, Cuban septets like SuperSones have inspired people around the world to dance and celebrate.
SuperSones represent this rich musical tradition with a wide range of classic and original songs in the many genres within the Son family: bolero, chachacha, guaracha, and son montuno among others. The group plays songs written by some of the greatest composers of Cuban popular music including Compay Segundo, Miguel Matamoros, Isaac Oviedo, and Arsenio Rodriguez. SuperSones recreate these songs with their own arrangements and improvisations to bring the Son alive in the Pacific Northwest. The group also regularly features original compositions firmly rooted in the Son tradition.
Since 2001, SuperSones have performed for a wide range of audiences. The group plays private functions such as parties, weddings, and corporate events. Depending on the unique needs of each occasion, SuperSones play in a range of instrumentations from a trio up to a septet. In Seattle, public performances have included the following venues: The Triple Door, Club Sur, Northwest Folklife Festival, Sea Monster Lounge, Tractor Tavern, Nectar, Seattle Folklore Society, Seattle City Hall, and Seattle Art Museum. In addition, the group has taught workshops and performed at several Seattle-area schools, Whitman College in Walla Walla, and the Seattle World Rhythm Festival. In May of 2006, the SuperSones toured Belgium and Holland.
Spotlight on the Waterfront engages audiences of all ages to experience music and visual performances along the new waterfront. Set on one of the city’s most scenic locations, Pier 62, this series provides audiences a chance to discover the region’s arts and culture.
This ‘pop-up’ program is a platform for local artists and cultural communities to introduce themselves, their songs, dance, and cultures, to a wide audience. These performances encourage a sense of spontaneity for neighbors, visitors and other community members along the downtown Seattle shoreline.
Hosted by Friends of Waterfront Seattle
Friends of Waterfront Seattle (“Friends”) is the nonprofit partner to the City of Seattle responsible for helping to fund, build, steward, and program the park — today and into the future. In deep collaboration with individuals, communities, and institutional partners, Friends’ mission is creating, caring for, and activating a renewed place on Seattle’s central shoreline to connect — to the water, to the mountains, to our city, and to one another.
In addition to raising $110M by 2024 to fund park construction, Friends will provide funding and manage the programming and operations of the future Waterfront Park through a joint-delivery partnership with Seattle Parks & Recreation. Park construction has begun following the Viaduct’s removal and the first piece of the park — Pier 62 — is now open.
