Following an extensive fall European tour, San Francisco-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes, which features two members of the celebrated Salinas, CA-based cumbia band ¿Qiensave? along with Prophet’s long-time band, The Mission Express, extend their tour into 2025 with stops along the East Coast of the USA and throughout the UK in support of their critically lauded collaborative album, Wake the Dead, out now on Yep Roc Records.
Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes perform at The Hamilton Live in DC on Wednesday, Jan. 22!
Recorded live in-studio with The Mission Express and ¿Qiensave?, a band of brothers from a farming community a hundred miles from San Francisco, Wake The Dead marks a departure for Prophet, best known for his Americana and rock leanings, creating a genre-defying album that bridges cultures, generations, and musical boundaries. An extraordinary and unlikely pairing, Wake The Dead blends Prophet and ¿Qiensave? seamlessly diving headfirst into the cumbia music world.
Prophet’s fascination with cumbia, a vibrant genre originating from Colombia, began after experiencing a weekly cumbia night at a local San Francisco haunt. “I’d seen ¿Qiensave? at a club in the Mission District,” Prophet explained in an Uncut interview. “They were such characters. I think they were getting a kick from the fact I was digging them. They invited me to Salinas, so I started going down there and jamming with them. Then I asked them to play with me at a festival in Big Sur. The whole place was dancing, it was a real thrill. Cumbia music transcends language. I became a complete evangelist.”
Watch the official music video for “Wake the Dead” by Chuck Prophet on YouTube:
Leading up to the album’s release, four singles and videos were released including, the “soft Western-esque ballad” (FLOOD) “Red Sky Night,” which shows behind-the-scenes footage of Prophet, his band The Mission Express, and ¿Qiensave? in the studio during the album recording sessions; “First Came The Thunder,” a melancholy tune that follows a lonesome lover chasing down a memory that hangs perpetually out of reach; the title track “Wake The Dead,” inspired by the Mexican tradition of honoring the deceased with altars laden with offerings; and “Sugar Into Water,” of which Prophet notes, “We play Texas a lot, and this song is a nod to that San Antonio sound. It’s a confection with the spirit of Doug Sahm and the Texas Tornados baked in.”
Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes
W/ Flaco El Jandro
The Hamilton Live
Wednesday, Jan. 22
Doors @ 6:30pm
$15
All ages