Triangle Afrobeat Orchestra is a high-energy band that gets audiences of all ages moving and grooving with their electrifying performances.
The Durham, NC based Triangle Afrobeat Orchestra (TAO) is a diverse, multi-generational, multi-ethnic band founded in 2018 by bassist/composer Vattel Cherry. The members include: a professor of dance; a prison physical therapist; a newspaper journalist; a doctor of pathology, as well as full time musicians, who have toured and recorded internationally.
TAO takes its inspiration from: Afro Beat creators Fela Kuti & Tony Allen: Afro Funk pioneer, Geraldo Pino; pianist/singer Nina Simone; trailblazing queen of Funk Betty Davis, British psychedelic funk legends Cymande, and activist/revolutionary Fred Hampton.
TAO has performed at: Francis Marion University (Florence, SC); New Belgium Brewery (Asheville, NC); Snug Harbor & Petra’s (Charlotte, NC); Motorco Music Hall & Fullsteam Brewery (Durham, NC); Cat’s Cradle & Carrboro Music Festival (Carrboro, NC); The Pour House Music Hall & Kings (Raleigh, NC).
Genre Description: Afrobeat is a music genre which involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles such as Fuji music and highlife with American funk and jazz influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rhythms, and percussion
Boom Unit Brass Band is the Triangle’s local version of a New Orleans Second Line jazz band. Their powerful sound, which fits somewhere between traditional Second Line bands and the ultra-tight Youngbloods Brass Band, comes from a full line-up of Trumpets, Trombones, and Saxophones plus a funky drummer holding it all together. They are fully loaded and capable of going straight from the parade to the stage. Boom Unit Brass Band has been featured at some of North Carolina’s premiere music venues and festivals. Commanding audiences’ attention with their lively performances, infectious rhythms, and powerful horn arrangements, Boom Unt Brass Band has assembled a dedicated following in North Carolina and raised through the ranks of their brass band contemporaries. They will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary in 2025, and they will begin recording our debut full-length LP very soon. Ten Hut and Fall In to become part of the Boom Unit Brass Band Squad!
