'Québecois Meets Polka' Comes to Flushing Town Hall This Weekend

Flushing Town Hall's Global Mashup series continues with its upcoming performance on March 2 at 8 p.m., "Québecois Meets Polka." Traditional Québecois music trio Grosse Isle will collaborate with an exciting ensemble of notable artists teaming up to play polka, known as Polka Loca: New York City-based accordion player Erica Mancini, who is currently touring with rock band Gogol Bordello, Yeah Yeah Yeahs drummer Brian Chase, Michael Winograd of Vulfpeck, Lynn Ligammari of Antibalas, Klezmatics trumpeter Frank London, and Ron Caswell of the StumbleBums.

The concert is part of Flushing Town Hall's popular Global Mashup series, where musical ensembles from two different cultures meet on one stage with an open dance floor. Each act will play their own set reflecting their respective sounds and culture, before "mashing up" in a third, collaborative set. The event will start with two dance workshops, include an open dance floor during the concert, two individual musical performances, and close with a third mashup set.

Grosse Isle will embrace their unique fusion of Irish and Québécois traditional music with original compositions, and Erica Mancini and the Polka Loca group will fuel a swinging, high energy polka party, inspired by the genre that emerged in the mid-19th century in the region of Bohemia, which is present-day Czech Republic and Poland.

"Flushing Town Hall is delighted to continue our highly successful Global Mashup Series and invite these world-class performers to our stage. The cheerful sounds of Grosse Isle, along with the exhilarating Erica Mancini and Polka Loca are sure to prompt audience members to get out of their seats and take advantage of the dance floor," said Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director of Flushing Town Hall. "It is so inspiring to see our visitors come together in the theater to enjoy and familiarize themselves with the music of two cultures coming together for a fun and unique evening."

About Grosse Isle

Grosse Isle is a traditional music trio hailed as "absolutely magical" by The Irish Music Magazine. Sophie Lavoie (fiddle, piano, vocal), André Marchand (guitar, vocal), and Fiachra O'Regan (uilleann pipes, whistle, banjo) blend Irish and Québecois traditional music with original compositions. Their rich and enveloping music ranges from laments to lively reels and jigs, promising a varied and captivating performance. The band name refers to the story of the mass arrival of the Irish in the 19th century, on Grosse Île in the St. Lawrence River, as they fled the Great Famine. It is a striking encounter between two peoples and two cultures. In 2018, the group dazzled with "Portraits," "a work of art in itself," (Roots Music Canada), and "a real treasure" (Folkword). Both albums received a nomination at the ADISQ awards in the category "Album of the Year-Traditional." The latest album "Le bonhomme sept heures / The Bonesetter" was launched in 2021 by the group. Their albums have been nominated in the Canadian Folk Music Awards. In addition to performing at several traditional music festivals in Québec, the musicians have also performed in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Ireland.

About Polka Loca featuring Erica Mancini

What do you get when a group of NYC's most eclectic musicians take a break from their regular gigs to come together and play everyone's favorite dance music? Polka Loca featuring Erica Mancini! Polka Loca (formerly The Old Bohemians) was formed to rock the house at one of the radical puppetry collective Great Small Works' legendary Spaghetti Dinner New Year's celebrations. Polka Loca draws from a wide range of American polka sources - Polish, Czech, German, Bohemian & Moravian - to get people dancing. Accordion demon Erica Mancini is currently touring with Gogol Bordello. Her eclectic repertoire explores folk music from around the world, as well as Americana, jazz, Klezmer, Latin, blues, rock, and more. In addition to her interests in traditional accordion music, her electroacoustic improvisations and compositions, as well as aerial accordion circus performances, are testaments to the versatile and unique approach she has not only as a musician, but as a performer. Trumpeter Frank London of The Klezmatics is a Grammy Award winner with over 500 recordings to his credit, playing with everyone from Iggy Pop to Itzhak Perlman. His latest releases include the Klezmer Brass Allstars' Chronika and the Elders' Spirit Stronger than Blood. Drummer Brian Chase plays with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as well as a host of Downtown improv luminaries - Mary Halverson, Anthony Coleman, and at John Zorn's Stone. He was ranked at No. 50 in Gigwise's list of The Greatest Drummers of All Time. Tuba player Ron Caswell's rocking bass lines inspire the StumbleBums, Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars, Henry Threadgill, and various HONK NYC! projects. From Buffalo, capital of New York's polka scene, saxophonist Lynn Ligammari has been touring with Antibalas, Conor Oberst, and her own bands. Clarinetist Michael Winograd is the next King of Klezmer, playing with his own Honorable Mentshn, the Yiddish Arts Trio, Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars, and the alt-soul spectacle band, VulfPeck. Polka Loca featuring Erica Mancini is a motley crew that fuels the swingingest, skronkiest, funnest Polka Party this side of Buffalo.

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