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Celebrate Cuban-style with Tiempo Libre at the Wayne Theatre

Chris Graham

tiempo libreTiempo Libre celebrates the release of their new Universal Music Latin Entertainment recording, Panamericano with a performance at The Wayne Theatre on June 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $20 and $25.

Tickets: click here.

As teenagers in Cuba, Tiempo Libre’s members studied classical music by day at Havana’s rigorous Russian-style conservatory La ENA. At night they met up to play the traditional music of their island. During a time in Cuba when listening to American music was forbidden, the boys crowded around a homemade radio and listened to the beats of Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

After emigrating to the United States, the men formed Tiempo Libre, a band that has become known around the world for its sophisticated, dance-inducing concerts of a Cuban style of music called timba – a joyful combination of Latin jazz, traditional Cuban “son” and other musical elements. Since their inception, they have garnered three Grammy nominations, the most recent for their album Bach in Havana, which melds classical tunes by Johann Sebastian Bach with the soul-stirring rhythms of salsa, merengue, and cha-cha.

Tiempo Libre will perform high energy, dance-inducing timba music featuring songs from My Secret Radio, as well as selections from their new Universal Music Group recording and their three previously Grammy-nominated timba albums Bach in Havana, Lo Que Esperabas and Arroz Con Mango.

The group has toured and performed extensively, including a performance at the Playboy Jazz Festival and appearances on The Tonight Show, Dancing with the Stars, Mega TV and Telemundo. Tiempo Libre is the picture of musical innovation. Be warned: their sound is infectious, their exuberance contagious and their beat will hijack your body from the waist down.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].