FREE | CENTRAL SQ. PARK | SATs | 4-7 PM | 2022
Sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Food Justice, with support from the Mass Service Alliance, the HIP Concert Series was crafted to encourage sustainable practices aimed to curtail hunger by the destigmatization and thus utilization of federal food programs: SNAP, HIP and WIC.
The Eastie event was created by Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) in concert with East Boston Social Centers (EBSC), East Boston Neighborhood Health Centers (EBNHC), Zumix, Story Collider, Livable Streets, Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), Salvadoran-American Foundation Boston and East Boston Main Streets
The event series featured live music performances including feature artists such as internationally known, but locally grown HipHop legend Edo.G; Motown's own seasoned musical veteran Wali Ali; burgeoning local Zumix Alums Angela Botticelli and Omar Sosa of East Boston. Salvadoran Carlos y su Latin Band and Libro Azul also enliven the stage with festive, cultural, musically masterful moves.
Zumix opened all the shows with youth performances from the Latin Ensemble, DiverCity Band, and the Jazz Ensemble. Encompassing R&B, Salvadoran Sounds, Motown Soul, Salsa and Reggaeton, the event was cultivated for diverse audiences around themes of climate, food, family and fun.
The event series also features healthy food demos conducted by gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez, SNAP sign-up incentives like food cards and grocery carts, unique giveaways, survival kits, Zumba dance lessons, and a Fresh Food Truck. Additionally, local surprise guests, trained by Story Collider and Presentations and Communication Skills & Training Coach Todd Fry, spoke about food subsidy and shared hardship related stories of triumph and struggle.
Saturday, April 23rd | Latin Sounds | Earth Day | Celebrate Diversity Month
Libro Azul
Libro Azul is an amalgam of various musicians who share a love of Latin music. The group is led by musical director, pianist, arranger/composer Joe Velez. Joe's compositions and arrangements can be heard being played many of New England's finest Salsa orchestras.
The core group, consisting of piano, bass, congas, bongo, flute/sax and augmented with vocals and more horns, has been playing together for over 30 years. The group plays a variety of original and classic Latin dance and Latin Jazz music.
Joe Velez - piano
Nelson "Pipo" Milano - percussion/vocal
Anthony “Prez” Perez - percussion/vocal
Carl Oman - bass
Jon Weeks - flute/sax
David Bilodeau - trumpet
The DiverCity Band
DiverCity is a pop ensemble at Zumix that meets weekly and plays live concerts in the Boston area. Our repertoire includes selections from Willow Smith, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, and Maroon 5. DiverCity members also choose what songs they want to play, on which they are decided as a group and included into the set list. They gain live performance experience, as well as performing with others and even engaging in songwriting activities. Participants must have several years of experience of their instrument, are able to read chord charts, and attend weekly rehearsals every Wednesday from 6 PM to 8 PM.
- Zumix DiverCity Band Live youth band 15 min set
- Welcome 5 mins
- Zumix DiverCity Band Live youth band 15 min set continued
- Story Collider Mystery guest speaker 5 min
- CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather) 5-minute intermission
- gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez Food demo 20 mins
- Libro Azul, featured band 45 min set
- Set break WIC, SNAP and HIP, Climate Change interactives 20 min
- Libro Azul, 45 mins set, band ends show
Saturday, May 7th | MOTOWN Soul | Mother's Day | National Mental Health Month
Wali Ali and the Biggest Little Band in Town
Wali A. Ali is no stranger to the Music Industry, he hails from Omaha Nebraska but resides in Boston. At the age of 11 Wali Ali played his first professional concert at Allen’s Showcase where the local talent was showcased every Sunday. At the Age of 17 in 1971 he landed a gig with Motown Records working with the Funk Brother’s Earl Van Dyke Robert White, Pistol Pete, and James Jamerson and the famous producer Norman Whitfield, producer of Temptations, Gladys Knight, Edwin Starr, and the Undisputed Truth. He is a studio musician and innovator. In 1977, Wali began touring with Marvin Gaye and is featured on Marvin Gaye Here My Dear Album. In 1978, along with working with Marvin, Wali also toured with Aretha Franklin. In 1980, Wali did a 30 City tour with Patrice Rushen and 1981, Trinidadian tour with Gladys Knight. Wali also penned a song for Gladys titled Love was Made for Two, featured on Gladys Knight’s Touch Album. Wali Ali is best known for his hit single Images. He has many solo albums including Sunshine Suite and I Can Play. Over the years, Wali has performed numerous times at the NAACP Image Awards. Currently Wali has his own group called “The Biggest Little Band in (Bean)Town!”
The ZUMIX Latin Ensemble
The Zumix Latin Ensemble is a youth-driven group that performs music from Central and South America and their diasporas. Ranging in ages from 12 to 18, The Latin Ensemble performs music from Carlos Santana to Grupo Niche to Antonio Carlos Jobim. In addition to the youth-selected repertoire, the group also writes, arranges, and performs original songs. Directed by Brian Paulding since 2012, the Zumix Latin Ensemble has played all around Boston including performances at Festival on the Farm (Canton, MA), The Coolidge Corner Theater, and Boston Children's Museum. They have shared stages with Eguie Castrillo, Debo Band, and Jimmy Bosch, and in the summer of 2019 were invited by Cindy Blackman Santana's Milagro Foundation to attend a Santana concert with soundcheck access plus an artist meet and greet.
- Zumix, Latin Ensemble, Live youth band 15 min set
- Welcome 5 mins
- Zumix, Latin Ensemble, Live youth band 15 min set
- Story Collider Mystery guest speaker 5 min
- HEAT CAB Zoe Davis 5-minute intermission
- gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez Food demo with 20 mins
- Wali Ali, featured band 45 min set
- Set break WIC, SNAP and HIP, Climate Change interactives 20 min
- Wali Ali, featured Band, 45 mins set band ends show
Saturday, June 18th | Old School Hip-Hop | Father's Day | National Safety Month | Waterfront Wellness Week | Juneteenth
Edo.G
Edo.G is an African American rapper from Roxbury, Massachusetts best known for being the leader of the hip hop group Ed O.G & Da Bulldogs, with whom he released two albums in the early 1990s. Edo.G made his debut as a teenager on the 1986 compilation album Boston Goes Def! (The Champions of Boston Rap!). In the early 1990s, Edo. G (aka Edward Anderson) rose to prominence as the leader rapper of the group Ed O.G & Da Bulldogs, who scored a hit in 1991 with the single "I Got to Have It," which was sampled later by Mary J. Blige on the track "Ooh!". In 1996, as a solo artist he put out a Japan-only release Six Song EP. He remains the best-known Boston rap artist internationally, having collaborated with large numbers of independent rap artists all over the globe including Pete Rock, DJ Premier, RZA, KRS-One, Common, Black Thought of The Roots and Masta Ace. In 2001, Edo.G released his debut solo album, The Truth Hurts. This was followed by 10 more solo and collaborative albums including but not limited to: Wishful Thinking (2002), Enemy (with Pete Rock) (2004), Stereotypez (with Special Teamz) (2007), Acting (with Da Bulldogs) (2008), Arts & Entertainment (with Masta Ace) (2009), A Face In The Crowd (2011), Intelligence & Ignorance (2013), After All These Years (2014),My Own Worst and Afterwords (with Street Wyze) (2015), and FreEDOm (2017)
Omar Sosa
Omar Sosa started going to ZUMIX as a participant in 1999 at the age of 6. He started off taking guitar lessons and then continued to participate in more programs including DiverCity Band, Street Program, the ZUMIX Vocal Choir, the ZUMIX Jazz Ensemble, and various other programs throughout the years. He was awarded a full-tuition scholarship in 2011 to attend Berklee College of Music and graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in Jazz Composition. He works at ZUMIX as the Instrumental Music Manager and continuing to gig throughout the Boston area with various bands including his own project, LON, which fuses elements of jazz, rock, and many other genres to produce their own sound. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp @lonband4 to stay up to date on upcoming shows and releases.
Marc Amedee
Celebrity Barber, Marc Amedee of Marxmen Cuts, will be offering free haircuts onsite. Marc's client list includes New England Revolution American soccer player, Jon Bell, and RCA Records' Dorchester Rapper, Cousin Stizz. Marc was recently featured in The Enterprise and will be accompanied by a slew of other A list local barbers as well.
- Omar Sosa, Zumix Alum, Live performance 15 min set
- Welcome 5 mins
- Omar Sosa, Zumix Alum, Live performance continued 15 min set
- Mystery guest speaker (Story Collider) 5 min
- 5-minute intermission-Nancy Smith, Office of Emergency Management
- gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez Food demo 20 mins
- Edo.G. featured band 45 min set
- Set break WIC, SNAP and HIP, Climate Change interactives 20 min
- Edo.G. 45 mins set band ends show
Saturday, July 23rd | Salvadoran Sounds | National Vanilla Ice Cream Day | National Culinary Arts Month
Carlos y su Latin Band
The ZUMIX Jazz Ensemble
The ZUMIX Jazz Ensemble is one of five performing ensembles at ZUMIX. The ensemble plays a wide-ranging repertoire of jazz, funk and modern classics spanning the genre’s century long development. The ensemble includes Ilan Hurtado on guitar, Jay Sullivan on bass, and Amir Harper on drums. The ensemble was started up in 2010 under the leadership of Nick Grondin and has fluctuated in size and personnel throughout its existence over the past decade. Some notable performances include opening up for Kevin Harris at the Panama Jazz Festival in 2014, a performance at ZUMIX’s Gala, The MUZE, in 2019, and opening up for Jaw Gems at ZUMIX’s Big Worlds concert series in 2020.
- Zumix Jazz Ensemble, Live youth band 15 min set
- Welcome 5 mins
- Zumix Jazz Ensemble, Live youth band 15 min set
- Mystery guest speaker (Story Collider) 5 min
- 5-minute intermission-Livable Streets
- gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez Food demo with 20 mins
- Carlos y Su Latin Band, featured band 45 min set
- Set break WIC, SNAP and HIP, Climate Change interactives 20 min
- Carlos y su Latin Band, 45 mins set band ends show
Saturday, August 20th | Zumba and DJ | World Honey Bee Day | National Family Fun Month
JC Sound Los Djs
Lissi Guerrero --Zumba
Lissi Guerrero, a longtime resident of East Boston, is originally from the Dominican Republic. She has been teaching Zumba for the last three years and can frequently be found participating in Union Capital Boston (UCB) meetings as an active resident. Lissi is passionate about helping her local neighborhood and wants to see the East Boston community and its many neighbors grow. In that vein, she has volunteered at NOAH’s last three emergency food programs (helping to distribute more than 200,000lbs of food in East Boston) as well as at NOAH's Day of the Corn celebration event last year. Lissi is often found where the action is and is always ready to help. Zumba is one of her favorite hobbies, she likes to exercise, and she especially enjoys offering to lend her expertise to community organizations such as NOAH.
- JC Sound, Live DJ 15 min set
- Welcome 5 mins
- JC Sounds, Live DJ 15 min set
- Mystery guest speaker (Story Collider) 5 min
- 5-minute intermission-Joy-Justin
- gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez Food demo with 20 mins (Honey)
- Lissi, Live Zumba Dance and JC Sound, Live DJ 45 mins
- Set break WIC, SNAP and HIP, Climate Change interactives 20 min
- Lissi, Live Zumba Dance and JC Sound, Live DJ 45 mins
Saturday, September 10th | R&B Unhinged | National TV Dinner Day | National Preparedness Month
Wali Ali
Back again for the HIP Concert, Wali Ali returns to the stage and will perform his original songs as well as current and classic R&B songs. His performance will close out the show in a powerful and memorable way.
Angelina Botticelli
Angelina Botticelli is a 21-year-old creative from East Boston, Massachusetts. From a very young age, she has been an active community member, musician, and motivated student leader through her involvement with Boston-based organizations such as ZUMIX, Boston Arts Academy, and Berklee College of Music’s City Music Program. Currently a Music Business and Entrepreneurship major at Berklee College of Music, she’s focused on using creativity and innovation to make a positive impact on others. On a daily basis, you can find Angelina working on projects ranging from songwriting and music production to writing a business plan, creative directing, photo and video editing, strategic planning, or really anything having to do with living a healthy life surrounded by her passions and community.
- Angelina Botticelli, Live Zumix Alum 15 min set
- Welcome 5 mins
- Angelina Botticelli continues 15 min set
- Mystery guest speaker (Story Collider) 5 min
- 5-minute intermission-CREW
- gogobytes with Gloria Fernandez Food demo with 20 mins
- Wali Ali, featured band 45 min set
- Set break WIC, SNAP and HIP, Climate Change interactives 20 min
- Wali Ali, featured band 45 min set, band ends show