This week’s Brewery Art Center’s Concert brings hot cumbia beats from Qiensave. The band from Salinas, California, has not played in Carson City, but they are excited and looking forward to playing in a new location.
Bandleader Carlos Cortez said they create music that moves you with their cumbia flavors. They have no problem getting people out of their seats and their music is very upbeat and fast tempo.
“You can’t fight that beat,” he said. “Once it starts pounding away and dropping — it starts with the tapping, then it moves up to your hips ,then you know it’s going from dancing to full on noodling.”
THE BAND
Qiensave’s bandmembers include Cortez (rhythm guitar/vox), Alejandro Gomez (lead guitar/vox), Mario Cortez (güido/keyboard/vox), Ricardo Cortez (drums/vox) and William Cortez (bass).
“They are all really great artists and have great talents,” Cortez said of his fellow bandmembers.
Cortez said each member is a lead in another band, and they’re all writers and well-versed musicians. Some have music degrees.
“It becomes a really explosive energy when we all come together,” he said.
Besides music, Cortez has a background in theater, and he tries to incorporate what he’s learned into the entertainment side of the show. The band brings in elements of costumes and performance and as an artistic director, Cortez said he amplifies that. He said the colors and the vibrancy will move you, just like flowers in a garden does the same.
“ZZ Top said it best: everybody goes crazy about a sharp-dressed man,” Cortez said. “It all adds to getting people moving. It just moves you.”
They also like to add to the set design when it works with the venue. With their décor, they like to change the environment and sometimes give a different perspective of what the venue can look like.
SIDE PROJECTS, NEW ALBUM
Qiensave has many projects going on including collaborations and their own album. The band has been working with DJ El Dusty from Texas. The DJ is mixing the band’s cumbia music with techno, dubstep and hip-hop mixtures, giving their audience a new take of their classic songs, Cortez said.
“He does a lot of great work, and he’s been nominated for a Latin Grammy,” he said. “He mixes it up really nice while keeping that cumbia flavor. He’s just awesome all around.”
That project will be released in August.
Another artist the band linked up with is Chuck Prophet. After playing together a few times, the two bands got to know each other a little better. Now Prophet has been working on a new album with cumbia flavors added to it, and Qiensave is supporting him through that. Cortez said that project should be coming out later in the year.
He said the band is also chiseling away on their own album, which he hopes to have ready by spring or summer in 2025. He said they are taking their time with the project and making sure they have the right song selections, which they want to tell a story. They’re also taking the time to work with several producers, so they must work with many different schedules. Cortez said having many producers will make the album more interesting.
“With one producer, you only have one flavor, so we like to mix it up a little and get different flavors to tell the story,” he said.
FIRST TIME IN CARSON CITY
Cortez said the band is really looking forward to coming to Carson City and playing in a new environment. He’s been getting more into the outdoors and visiting more parts of the Sierra Nevada.
“That whole little pocket is beautiful,” he said. “I’m pretty excited and I know the guys are psyched.”
He said the band likes to arrive early with enough time to get to know the town. All the bandmembers are involved in their community and work in different parts of education, music and the arts, so Cortez said they enjoy visiting other towns to see what they can learn and take home. Most of all, the band likes to get a feel for the vibe of the people, and they put that energy into their show.
“When we get the vibe of the people, we can reflect that vibe and mirror that on stage,” he said.
Cortez said he’d like to meet many new fans at the show, and he welcomes everyone to chat with them after the show whether it’s just to say hello or ask about the lyrics.
“Come talk to us,” he said. “We’re all about great conversations. We love connecting with anybody who comes to our shows.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Qiensave with opening act Ballet Folklorico and Danza Azteca Aztlan at the Brewery Art Center’s Levitt AMP Concert Series
WHERE: 449 W. King St. at the Brewery Arts Center
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20
MORE INFO: breweryarts.org; www.qiensavemusic.com