Get ready to start the New Year with joy, laughter, and togetherness, and make memories with friends, old and new.
Prepare for an extraordinary night of music, culture, and celebration as a collective of world-class musicians and DJs comes together to create an unforgettable show.
6PM - New Year’s festive buffet and surprise entertainment
9:30PM - Ricky’s live latin band to ring in the new year with unmatched energy and soul.
Midnight - Toast with a glass of champagne offered by Bissap Baobab
Til 3AM - Dance through the night with DJs Blackbangando, Drogba, Elembe and more.
See you there. Ca va chauffer! 🎉 🥳
Don’t know Ricky’s band? You are in for a treat 😃
Who are these luminaries of the global, jazz, and Latin music scenes?
Dr. John Calloway - Nationally recognized multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and educator.
Known for his prolific work in Jazz, Latin American and other Global music styles, John has performed with internationally known jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Musselwhite, Arturo Sandoval, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Max Roach, Pete Escovedo, and in the SF Bay Area, with Kulintang Arts, Jesus Diaz, Mark Levine, John Santos, Marcus Shelby and Wayne Wallace. John also had a dual career in education for over 35 years.
Hector Lugo - Percussionist, singer, songwriter, and educator.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Hector moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 to pursue graduate studies in sociology at UC Berkeley. Shortly thereafter, he began to perform with some of the great bands and artists in the local Latin, Jazz, and Afro-Caribbean music scenes, dedicating himself to what would become the lifelong study and teaching of Latin American and Caribbean music, history, and culture. Lugo has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists such as Bobby Céspedes and Conjunto Céspedes, Louie Romero and Grupo Mazacote, Modesto Cepeda and Cimiento the Puerto Rico, Luis “Chichito” Cepeda and the Los Cepeda Ensemble, Jackeline Rago and the Venezuelan Music Project, Larry Vuckovich, the John Santos Sextet, Salsa legend Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, Los Pleneros de la 21, Cuban son ensemble Pellejo Seco, Chuchito Valdés, Mono Blanco, Edgardo Cambón y Candela, and Zimbabwean traditional dance troupe The Chinyakare Ensemble, to name a few.
Ayla Davila - Bass, composer and arranger
Ayla is a seasoned instrumentalist, graduate of Berkeley School of music, Bay Area native of Guatemalan descent, and one of the busiest bass players in the Bay Area latin music scene. Ayla has been a founding member of bands such as La Mixta Criolla, Carne Cruda and plays for several latin bands among them Mario y Su Timbeko, LaTido and Jesus Diaz y su Qba. Ayla was also a founding member of Mexican roots ensemble “Los Cenzontles”.
Raul Navarrette - Trombone
Raul Navarrette started playing trombone at the age of 9, and has been working as a New York City musician for the last 25 years. He has shared the stage with a wide range of artists exploring an array of genres along with artists from around the world in a variety of musical settings, locally and nationally.
Raul has also devoted part of his professional career as teacher, private instructor, invited guest speaker for schools in classrooms for young and old students. He works in the areas of classical music, jazz, salsa, Broadway/theatre/musicals recordings. He is currently working on a solo latin jazz project of his own compositions.
Sergio OriAche Duran - Percussionist
Sergio has been part of the Bay Area Latin music scene for over 15 years specializing in Afro-Cuban folklore, Salsa and Cumbia music. He has performed with bands such as Futuro Picante Youth Salsa Band, LoCura, Makru, Miguel Govea y los Compas, Rumbache, Fito Reinoso, Afrolicious, and La Familia Peña Govea. He's had the pleasure of touring the Americas with fusion band LoCura, and playing at such events as Outside Lands Music Festival, and opening up for grammy award winning artist Sergio Mendes, at the San Francisco Stern Grove Festival. His passion for percussion began in the years he studied at San Francisco’s Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. Prominent musical mentors such Melecio Magdaluyo, Louie Romero, Omar Ledezma Jr, and Miguel Govea have had significant roles in molding Sergio into the musician he is today. He is proud to have the opportunity to pass his musical knowledge to the next generation, and has had the honor of teaching at Mission Cultural Center M.A.S.S summer program, Community Music Center, Horace Mann Middle School, and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. Sergio is passionate about preserving traditions, creating new music, and looks forward to collaborating with like minded musicians.
Ricky Aguilar - Percussion and Leader of Grupo Afro-Nativo
Ricky has spent all his life in the Mission district and played with many groups of the Bay area including Louis Romero's Mazacote, Latin Rhythm Boys, Afro Cuban folkloric music groups and many more. He also teaches privately percussion.