This Saturday, Gainesville’s own Umoja Orchestra will be reuniting after a seven-year hiatus to play at The Wooly downtown.
The orchestra will be joined by Gainesville psych-rock quartet Morningbell for the show.
The Umoja Orchestra blends elements of afrobeat, jazz, funk, salsa, merengue and several other multicultural musical styles.
Known for energetic performances and instrumentals based on encouraging audiences to dance, the Umoja Orchestra is well-known for engaging attendees of their shows.
“We make high-energy music with tons of brass and percussion,” said Scott Bihorel, the orchestra’s conga player. “Our audience should expect to be irresistibly moved to dance until they collapse, even if they’ve never danced before.”
The Umoja Orchestra started in 2005, when several members met at UF’s School of Music.
Playing together in Jennings Hall in their freshman year, the original members met with the help of academic involvement, as well as Gainesville’s diverse music scene.
“Umoja was always a rotating cast of whatever colorful Gainesville characters we could find,” said David Borenstein, the orchestra’s saxophone player. “The band and Gainesville have a mutually beneficial relationship. I like to think we make each other weirder.”
Although Saturday will be the first time in several years that the Umoja Orchestra has played together, they had a busy and successful run for their active years.
Having gone on three national tours under the name of the Umoja Orchestra, the band has garnered a lot of attention for its exciting stage shows. The group, whose name ‘Umoja’ comes from the Swahili word for “unity,” according to its Facebook page, has traveled up and down the east coast, as well as performing as far as Texas.
“We pack the stage with upwards of 20 people and I like to think we put on a pretty good party,” Borenstein said.
Morningbell, who will be sharing the stage with Umoja Orchestra, formed in Gainesville and has played at Bonnaroo, according to the event’s Facebook page. Their performance will include a light show.
The show starts at 9 p.m. and should run until about 1 a.m. Advance tickets for the show can be purchased at showclix.com, Hear Again Records or Arrows Aim for $8.
Entry to the show will cost $10 the night of the event and is only for those 18 and over.
