Samba is a rhythm and a style, but in Brazil the music and the aesthetic pervade the culture in something like the way the blues informs just about all American popular music in some manner.
There wouldn’t be bossa nova without samba. So it makes good sense that Trinity College has been hosting an annual samba fest for years now. Music professor Eric Galm studied in Rio, wrote his dissertation on Brazilian music and leads an impressively energetic samba drumming group that would be right at home at Carnival.
The festival connects the Hartford area’s sizeable Brazilian population and music lovers in general with the bubbly rhythms of Rio and Bahia. This year’s free event will feature numerous brass, steel and samba bands. The lineup includes Ginga Brasileira, Sambeleza, Sambusa Band, Grupo Ghettos, Conjunto Antillano featuring Ray Gonzalez, Hartford Steel Symphony, Hartford Hot Several Brass Band, Trinity Samba Ensemble and Trinity Steel.
Samba Fest will be held at the Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, Hartford, on Saturday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Information: riverfront.org.
![Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]](https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405040611TMS_____FASTCOMP_19685_ctnfc_media.jpg?w=620 "Dust off your finest hats—it’s Derby day. This year marks the 150th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The horse race has occurred annually on a Saturday in May since it began on May 17, 1875, with the only exceptions being 1945 due to World War II and 2020 because of […]")