Rumbache
Rumbache has established themselves as one of the hottest Bay Area salsa bands. Fusing salsa, timba, bomba and whatever else they could find to spicen up the mood, they provide a hard hitting style of playing. And while you can hear them interpreting the classic and contemporary Cuban and Salsa repertoire, they are not shy with their own expression. Their fresh originals make them stand-out in an otherwise cover heavy salsa scene. Under the leadership of percussionist Patricio Angulo, Rumbache is the voice of youth for San Francisco's salsa scene, and ignites enthusiasm in dancers and musical connoisseurs alike.

Grupo Bakkan
Grupo Bakkan was established in 2000, after a long period of doing live performances in the San Francisco Bay Area under the name Toni Nieto y Su Orquesta. Grupo Bakkan is a generation of fresh, creative and original sounds with a new salsa rhythm, BAKKANA! The band was named BAKKAN after several trips to Cali, Colombia; where people use this word very often to describe a good mood (to feel good) or simply when is time to party. The idea in forming the group was to give salsa music a new flavor with sounds from the Caribbean, and Latin America. Grupo Bakkan is more than just a band… and you are invited to join the Bakkan experience!

Anthony Blea y su Charanga
Combining the traditional Charanga instrumentation (violin, flute) with a driving horn section, Anthony Blea y su Charanga will satisfy any true music lover's fantasy. Complimenting Anthony's prodigious skills are the finest musicians to be had in the Bay-Area. Led by Violinist Anthony Blea, the band is a world class Charanga band that was formed in 1995 in San Francisco. You will find yourself dancing to the driving sounds of the violin and percussion, amazed by the solos of the piano and mesmerized by the swinging bass! Put your dancing shoes on and grab a partner, Anthony Blea and crew are in town!

Mazacote
Mazacote is the hard-swinging, old-school salsa group of legendary percussionist Louie Romero, who came to fans’ attention as the longtime timbales player for famed salsero "El Cantante" Hector Lavoe. Louie is also renowned for his work with Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, Celia Cruz, Ron Carter, and other salsa and jazz stars in his native New York. Based in San Francisco, Mazacote plays a crowd-pleasing, high-energy mixture of classic salsa favorites and original latin jazz tunes. It’s no wonder that Latin Beat magazine called Mazacote "one of the premier salsa ensembles in Northern California." Recently, the band released the album “Timbalero.” The album is filled with soulful and danceable salsa, cha-cha, latin jazz, Cuban guajira, and bomba — and it's receiving rave reviews from dancers, DJs, and music critics alike.

Blanca
With a soulful voice and lyrics from the heart, singer songwriter Blanca Sandoval has captivated audiences. By means of an unrivaled sound that blends together her Latin musical roots with rock, funk, jazz, and up beat ballads, her style is extremely diverse. Known as "The Sweetheart of Latin Rock, Inc", Blanca recently brought together some very talented musicians to form the band "BLANCA" which includes Robert Zamora (lead guitar), Mike Juarez (drums) and Oscar Tablada (bass). The new four/piece band has been pulling in their own audience and recruiting new fans everywhere they play.

Lava
Lava is a funky brew of Latin Jazz, Cha-Cha-Cha, Rock, Funk, and Salsa, lead by Bay Area Coguero Delbert Ojeda, who has studied under Pete Escovedo and Tam Saguyan.  Lava covers such artists as Santana, Poncho Sanchez and War as well as Latin standards that have been in the top 40 over the years. Featuring Mio "El Timbalero" Flores, the highly sought after Bay Area musician, this band brings the fire from London, Brazil, New York and France. Come feel the heat.

Richard Bean & Sapo
"In the annals of Bay Area music, Malo's "Suavecito" will no doubt go down as the ultimate Latino love song. The San Francisco Latin rock group's 1972 hit featured the voice of Richard Bean, who wrote it. Today the longtime Hayward resident is still going strong with Sapo, the band he formed after leaving Malo. Sapo (the name translates as "Frog") also got national exposure with a very nice self-titled album; barrio low-rider classics such as "Can't Make It," "Sapo's Montuño," and "Ritmo del Corazón" came out of that now-collectible LP."

"The Emergence of the "New Chicano Groove" has sparked renewed interest in Latin rock bands whose appearance in the late 1960s and early '70s altered the face of popular music. Santana is rightly credited for kick-starting this mini-revolution. Hitching African-Latin polyrhythms to rock guitar, the band paved the way for a myriad of other Chicano-led ensembles, most notably Azteca, Malo and Sapo. The incorporation of R&B, percussion and jazz elements made these bands sound unique. Richard Bean was instrumental in upping the funk quotient in the then novel sound."

Kat Parra Latin/World Ensemble
Vocalist Kat Parra casts a wide net over a variety of musical topographies. She delves into a world of sound with forays into Middle-Eastern, Afro-Peruvian and Sephardic musics, pushing well beyond the conventions of Latin jazz. Her ability to sing fluently in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Ladino is a passport into the richness of contrasting musical cultures. She is ably backed by Murray Low – keyboards; Masaru Koga – woodwinds/percussion; Chris Lopes –bass; Katja Cooper – percussion; and Dan Foltz – drums. Parra will debut her latest release Las Aventuras de Pasión.

Brian Andres Afro Cuban Jazz Cartel
The San Francisco Bay Area has been a historic hotbed for Latin Jazz artists. From Cal Tjader to Armando Peraza. From John Santos to Rebeca Mauleon. The latin jazz tradition has thrived in the Bay Area. It is from this tradition that The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel arrives. Lead by drummer Brian Andres, the group was formed to contribute its own mark to that storied history. Comprised of some of the most sought after musicians the Bay Area has to offer, the ACJC never fails to perform its music at the highest level. Featuring the Musical Directorship of pianist Christian Tumalan, their repertoire consists of original compositions as well as exciting original arrangements of classics from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and The United States.

John Calloway and the Latin Collective
John Calloway is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, educator and a cornerstone of the Bay Area Latin and world music scenes since the 1970s. Adept at flute, piano, and percussion, John has collaborated with a who’s-who of Bay Area jazz and Latin jazz innovators, including: Jesus Diaz, Pete Escovedo, Mark Levine, Rebeca Mauleon, Marcus Shelby, Larry Vukovich and Wayne Wallace, not to mention his essential work as a collaborator for over three decades with 5-time GRAMMY® nominee John Santos. He’s also performed with such international known artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Los Van Van, Orlando “Maraca” Valle, Max Roach, Arturo Sandoval, Omar Sosa and Israel “Cachao” Lopez. As a composer, arranger and performer, Dr. Calloway was an essential part of GRAMMY® nominated recordings with the Machete Ensemble and Ritmo y Candela, and has an established record as an arranger/composer for many bands and ensembles across the country.