Susana Baca with Banda Magda, Michael League to Perform at The Soraya

Legendary Peruvian artist Susana Baca joins Banda Magda and Snarky Puppy's Michael League for a one-of-a-kind performance, only at The Soraya, on Friday, February 22 at 8:00pm. Baca is an ardent advocate for Peruvian blacks and indigenous peoples. Greek-born singer, composer, and accordionist Magda Giannikou, leads Banda Magda, which moves from Greek folk tunes to Colombian cumbia, an eclectic mix that brought them to 22 nations. Giannikou is a champion of music education and has joined Baca in her work in South America. Michael League, who represents them both on his label GroundUP, will join these two powerful performers onstage.

"This show came about in a very serendipitous way," said Justin Souza, The Soraya's Program Director. "Both Susana Baca and Magda Giannikou (lead singer for Banda Magda) have a similar ethos when it comes to the power of music to create positivity and inspire future generations. And Michael League, an incredible musician in his own right, has produced albums for both artists. I saw an opportunity to bring these three together and create a celebration of music from across different countries and generations. With these three on stage, I have no doubt that it's going to be magical."

For decades, Susana Baca has represented Peruvian music to the world, with an artistic approach that makes it totally modern. From her beginnings, growing up in a servant's alley in Lima, Peru, to her current status as an internationally - known diva of song, it's been an inspiring and unlikely journey. Baca is also an expansive artist. She's covered tunes by Caetano Veloso, Björk, and dozens of Cuban artists. Baca infuses every song and style with her own understated elegance, adding elements of son, cumbia, plena, son jarocho, and other types of music to her own Afro-Peruvian style; and her band breathes with her. With their defining timbres they keep it rooted in Perú while adjusting the latitude of the rhythm and the harmony to wherever Susana Baca goes and whatever guests she brings along. Breath of Life says, "You might say that Susana Baca's music catalog is the world's most beautiful, and funkiest, history lesson" - Breath of Live

Michael Leauge is the bassist, composer and bandleader of the New-York based jazz and funk collective Snarky Puppy. Snarky Puppy seamlessly fuses a deep knowledge and respect for musical tradition with sonic and conceptual innovation in a way that is able to reach the most critical- or most carefree- audience. Though an instrumental band in nature, Snarky Puppy thrives on collaborating with artists from all styles. Their Family Dinner album series is a vehicle for this, having seen the likes of Salif Keita, David Crosby, Lalah Hathaway, Becca Stevens, Laura Mvula, Brazilian legends Carlos Malta and Bernardo Aguiar, Swedish neo-trad group Väsen, Jeff Coffin, Charlie Hunter, and many more.

Led by Greek-born singer, accordionist, and composer Magda Giannikou, Banda Magda incorporates samba, French chanson, folk tunes and various strains of South American music into an effervescent blend of world pop that feels totally modern, yet is possessed of a sunny, mid-century vibe. Founded in 2010, the New York based band is a true global melting pot, with members hailing from Greece, Argentina, Japan, Colombia and the U.S., and original songs composed and arranged by Giannikou, sung in six languages. Their first two Michael League-produced albums - 2013's Amour t'es là, 2014's Yerakina - have shown a steady growth of scope and sophistication matched by the band's dramatically risen profile, earning Top 10 placement on the Billboard World Music Charts as well as coverage on NPR's All Songs Considered and "10 Favorite World Music Albums." With Tigre, Banda Magda has made its boldest step yet, with an expanded lineup of musicians giving life to Giannikou's entrancing compositions that bear the subtitle "Stories of Courage and Fearlessness."

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit The Soraya or call 818-677-3000. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts is located at 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330. Ticket prices subject to change.

Photo by: Giancarlo Aponte