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Live from Lock One with the Debo Band – Introducing Freedom Square! 
July 2, 2011 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT
A coalition of local community groups is launching Freedom Square–just up the block from the Sanctuary–with free outdoor live music. We call the collaboration between The Sanctuary for Independent Media, Missing Link Street Ministry, Troy Bike Rescue and Collard City Growers the Freedom Square Coalition- named after the grassy spot where 5th and 6th Avenues meet 101st Street a block from the Sanctuary. We think of Freedom Square as an urban cultural and spiritual oasis, so we were pleased to inaugurate it with a special afternoon of food, bikes and music on the July 4th weekend.
All the way from Boston is Debo Band, a 10-piece Ethiopian soul group. The Debo Band is not your mother’s Ethiopian dance band. Expect searing horns, crooning vocals, and slinky funk grooves. Dubbed out violin and accordion. Bass-heavy, brazen, and dense. Led by Ethiopian-American saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by charismatic vocalist Bruck Tesfaye, Debo’s performances bring together the best of the last forty years of Ethiopian music, with a reverence for the vintage sounds of the 1970s and a commitment to discovering contemporary gems, as well as developing new compositions. They’re stopping in Troy on their way back to Boston from a performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Don’t worry–if you miss this show, you can catch them in August at Lincoln Center in NYC. Also on the lineup, homegrown talent from Troy’s own Missing Link Mens Chorus (gospel), S.K.A.T.E. (hip hop) and Sumac (country rock).
This concert is sponsored by the Uptown Initiative and One Day Signs.
We are committed to lowering the barriers to access for events at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. For people who are hard of hearing or deaf, blind or low-vision, or whose physical limitations can interfere with a satisfying experience, let us know two weeks in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.
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