Beat those winter blues by coming down to Boteco Do Brasil this Saturday for a wee shimmy and some sunny cocktails to celebrate the 2nd birthday of Glasgows very own Brazillian bar and restaurant. Bringing live music from SambaYaBamba and Mario Caribe and band with face painting and fire juggling thrown into the mix for good measure, it's a recipe for fun!

See you there folks.

http://www.botecodobrasil.com/boteco-live/birthday 

With great reluctance and deep regret, we've had to cancel the workshops due to start tomorrow evening (Wednesday 18th). We have been given notice to move out of our current rehearsal space and it has quickly become an environment completely unsuitable for classes, for various reasons. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. 

We are currently on the hunt for a new home (if you think you know of anywhere suitable please get in touch!) and hope to have something in place by early March, if not before. Watch this space!

Want to try something new this year? Why not try your hand at samba? Our open workshops start next Wednesday, all levels welcome. Beat the January blues and start 2012 with a bang! (pun intended)

Click here for more info 

SambaYaBamba will be heading to Buchanan street on Saturday morning to get you all into the festive spirit with some good old fashioned SAMBA! Follow your happy ears down and have a wee seasonal shoogle on us!

A dedicated weekend of performances & workshops studying 'pagode' (funky samba songs accompanied by hand percussion and guitars) the type of samba found in bars and parties in Brazil. Held in Glasgow, this course features classes in technique of hand percussion including pandeiro, tan-tan, rebolo, repique de mao, guitar & cavaquinho (small 4 string guitar similar to ukelele. Also singing and ensemble playing.

 This course is suitable for people with some experience of samba percussion, or guitar (can play chords) & those who would like to learn to sing in Portuguese. Some percussion will be available to borrow but you should bring your own if you can. Guitar/cavaquinho players need to bring their own instrument.

*Friday 30th Sept - Welcome pagode gig at Boteco do Brasil (free)

*Saturday 1st Oct - 10am -6pm Classes. 8pm Gig at Boteco (free)

*Sunday 2nd Oct - 10.30am -5.30pm Classes. 7.30 - Gig at Classic Grand with Rhythms of the City (London), Captain Slackship's Mezzanine Allstars (Glasgow) and of course, Sambayabamba! (£6 entry)

Tutors: Bosco de Oliveira, Barak Schmool, Laurie Blundell

Cost: £50

Venue: Kinning Park Complex, Cornwall st, Glasgow, G41 1AQ

*IMPORTANT* you MUST register beforehand! email: roddydickson1@gmail.com

This September SYB will be looking out the big red passport and heading across the water to Poland. We are delighted to have been invited to take part in the Gdański Festiwal Kultury. We look forward to meeting up with our friends in Poland.

After the fun we had two years ago playing at the Homecoming Festival it was a true blessing to be invited back to play as part of the Tall Ships event. From playing on board the breathtaking Russian tall ship The Mir, to all bundling into a van to play at the Lewis Highland Games, it was four days of non stop drumming and celebrations! 

A huge thanks to everyone who helped make it a most memorable event and we hope to be back again next year! 

This year saw a lifelong ambition of the band fulfilled with a glorious weekend performing in the Hebridean metropolis of Stornoway at the 2009 Homecoming Hebridean Tattoo. The weather and the people treated us well as we got kilted up and did our bit alongside the many pipe bands from the islands and even Canada in the grounds of the imposing Lews castle. The following day we paraded through the streets balanced precariously on the back of an artic with the crowds smiling and throwing coins... which is apparently a good thing up there!! The black pudding was flowing, seals obligingly played in the harbour, the standing stones at Callenish sparkled in the sunlight and Uig Sands, the biggest beach any of us had ever seen, exposed it's full golden expanse out to the Atlantic. Half the band then went home the long way, through all the islands down to Barra and then to Oban. SambaYaBamba is obsessed with islands as it is but this was certainly a wonderful experience and we dearly hope to be invited back next year.

Half the Summer may be gone but there is still very much half left! SambaYaBamba will be at Eden Festival (4th-6th Sep) in the Forest of Ae in Dumfries and Galloway. A new venture by the crew who were behind the Eden tent formerly at the Wickerman, looks like a nice little well run and friendly festival that will be here to stay. Also look out for SYB's evil cousins, Glaswegian dub reggae extravaganza; Captain Slackship's Mezzanine Allstars. And we're pleased to say Knockengorroch: The Hairth (16th - 20th Sep) at Knockengorroch Farm. A little further afield, we're very excited to announce that we will also be playing at the Homecoming Hebridean Tattoo in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis on the weekend of the 8th of August.