Celebrate Scorpio season with a stacked bill showcasing more musicians and musical styles than we can even count! An inspiring evening of intercontinental insanity, cacophonous collaborations, and good vibes awaits.

Mission Delirium is an invitation to revel in heart pounding drums and facemelting brass, let your hair down, get delirious and shake your ass. If it moves you, MD plays it: Bollywood, Balkan, Brazilian, Cumbia, Ethiopian, Tango, Afro-pop, Arabic, Salsa and more- all served with a unique twist of San Francisco. A love letter to your feet from the dance floor, this 20 piece is ready to party!

https://missiondelirium.com/

Istanbul Connection is a San Francisco, California musical collective formed in 2015 when 13 members of the hottest Balkan and Latin bands were gravitationally pulled to visit the city of Istanbul. With a mind towards cross-cultural connection and sonic expansion, these die-hards flew 7,000 miles to represent a piece of the Bay Area music scene. In the process, they have cemented themselves as a supergroup of groove and since their epic beginnings, the band has performed sold-out show after sold-out show. They continue to draw their inspiration from the Turkish Maqam, Flamenco, Rumba, Balkan, and Cumbia, which are so deeply rooted in. Old school Balkan Latin folk music in a funky Bay Area context.

https://www.istanbulconnection.net/

Camellia Boutros is a Lebanese Palestinian composer and multi-instrumentalist based in San Francisco. After years of experience performing with a diverse array of Arab, Balkan, and Mexican music groups on trumpet, oud, and bass, she developed a fretless 12-string electric guitar as a vehicle for composing her own brand of Arab experimental rock. Naming her instrument the “electric oud-guitar,” Camellia writes music rooted in both Arabic Maqam and the Bay Area sound, which reflects her own experience growing up between California and the Levant. An energetic blend of Arab traditional, psychedelia, folk, jazz, hip hop, and experimentalism, her music and lyrics defy genre definition.

https://camelliaboutros.com/

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After a long summer hiatus get ready to leave it all on the dance floor with Balkan Sundays at Ashkenaz! We are now hosting this awesome event on 4th Sundays at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. It's also 2nd Sundays at Muddy Waters in SF. That's right, twice a month on both sides of the bay.

We're bringing the heat for this edition of Balkan Sundays with an unstoppable lineup of musicians who know how to keep a room on fire. Step into a night of high-energy Balkan classics powered by this incredible crew:

Marco Peris on Tupan, Joey Friedman on Saxophone, Noah Levitt on Trumpet and Paul Marini on Sousaphone

And that's not all — expect special drop-ins from guest all-stars throughout the night!

New to Balkan Dancing? No worries, we've got you. Arrive at 7:30 PM for a lively workshop with the one and only Ivan Velev. He'll walk you through the classic footwork so you hit the floor with confidence. Once the music kicks in, just let go — feel the rhythm and ride the wave!

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