Earthy Vibe of Matuto to Wrap Up Madison Concert Series

A band that describes itself as sounding like "a Brazilian Carnaval in the Appalachian Mountains" is coming to Madison next month to wrap up the Downtown Concert Series.

Matuto is scheduled to perform from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts.

The band will bring its "Appalachia-gone-Afro-Brazilian sound"—rolling drums, accordion licks, blues vocals—to the Rose City after having played stages including Chicago World Music Festival and The Kennedy Center.

"Matuto are part of a broader, loosely defined movement of hard-to-define acoustic innovators, musicians savoring their own heritage as they commune across genre and cultural bounds," an announcement for the Madison concert says. "Hailing from different parts of the country, Clay Ross and Rob Curto first met in Brooklyn’s genre-defying music scene. After laying down tracks on each other’s albums, they headed to Recife together and became fast friends as they played music, listened to local ensembles, held workshops in favela community centers, and won over local fans."

Matuto was one of 35 groups out of over 750 applicants from around the world to showcase at the 2011 WOMEX World Music Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, and its members were appointed “American Musical Ambassadors” for the U.S. State Department in 2012.

The members of Matuto have worked with musicians including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, Cyro Baptista, Tony Trischka, Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Phoebe Snow, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Cyndi Lauper, Cassandra Wilson, Abigail Washburn, The Wild Colonials, Lila Downs, Yo Yo Ma, Lee Konitz, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Natalie Merchant, David Krakauer and Pete Seeger, the announcement says.

The Downtown Concert Series is a series of free Friday evening, family-friendly concerts held outside on the lawn of the museum. The concert will be held inside in case of inclement weather. Picnicking is welcome. For more information call 973-377-2982 ext. 14 or visit www.metc.org.