Southern Vida: Appalatin Brings Bluegrass and Grooves, Latin Beats and Horns to Life-Affirming Songs on New Album and Regional Tour

Yani Vozos, who grew up in Eastern Kentucky, and Marlon Obando, who originally hails from Nicaragua, both regularly bring songs to Appalatin, the bluegrass and folk-rock meets pan-Latin party music project based in Louisville. The funny thing: though they write lyrics in their native languages, English and Spanish respectively, they write about the same subjects. “We’ll often use the exact same words, just in a different language,” marvels Vozos.

That is the whole point of Appalatin, who celebrate the shared pleasures and pains of life on their third release, Vida (release: July 20, 2018). The group has always been about uniting the best of Appalachian and Latin traditions to get people dancing, but now these connections feel all the more vital in an era fraught with divisions and suspicion.

“People are hungry for this type of art or music,” reflects Vozos, “something that will bring us together, that everyone can identify with and get behind. Here we are on stage, embodying this hope that everyone has, an ideal that we can pursue. As immigrants and Kentucky-raised folks making music together, we are literally creating harmony to boost harmony in society,” an element underlined by Vida’s spotlight on vocal harmonies, woven by the band and special guest Carla Gover.

The emphasis on the party and on the Latin part of Appalatin is audible on Vida. “We were trying on our last album to focus on the bluegrass and folk side,” Vozos says. “This album has taken more from rock and Afro-Latin styles for a funkier vibe.” This vibe moves front and center on tracks like “Primavera” and “Pituco,” highlighting the horn section the band has been experimenting with and adding to the mix for several years. They further expand their acoustic palette with distorted guitar, adding rock drive and grit.

Yet the album also has its more reflective moments, ballads like “Vida” and “Sweet Song of My Soul”,” songs whose gently philosophical lyrics show how close life experiences are, no matter what your heritage. Appalatin, over a decade of playing together, have found that sweet spot where traditions can talk fruitfully about universal emotions. This can happen when similar instruments speak to one another, as Gregory Acker’s flute plays off of Ecuadoran-born Fernando Moya’s Andean flutes on tracks like the Venezuelan classic “Moliendo Cafe.” The diminutive charango can trade places with the mandolin for lightning-fast riffs (“Echo”). “Guantanamera” can go full bluegrass--and it works like a charm.

The band played the classic Cuban tune regularly at gigs, rendering it in a traditional (far slower) way. Then one night, “Someone in the band was like “Let’s pick it up a bit. Jose did that one-five bass, and the crowd went crazy,” recalls Vozos. “Then on the spot, I translated the first verse into English, replaced palm with pawpaw.” For the studio version, Appalatin invited ace bluegrass fiddler Michael Cleveland and banjo whiz Aaron Bibelhauser to take it up yet another notch.

This exploration and wide-ranging conversation rose organically from the band’s stomping grounds, Louisville. A frequent destination for refugees making a new home in the US, the small city blends laid-back Southern love of good food, music, and times with a cosmopolitan population. It has embraced the band; Appalatin took Best Americana Band (2014) in a recent round of Louisville Music Awards. Appalatin was also featured in 2014 in a regional Emmy-nominated documentary created by the local PBS station.

They have shared the stage with alt-Latin darlings (La Santa Cecilia, Las Cafeteras) and progressive bluegrass icons (Sam Bush). National booking agency Folklore International has also taken notice of the band and as FLi Roster Artists, Appalatin will now be bringing their unique blend of sounds to stages and festivals nationwide.

Yet the band’s appeal lies in its members’ ability to share their experiences in deeply human ways, to channel the joy of coming together to dance and listen. “As our song ‘Vos me das’ puts it, it’s about the whole theme in life,” Vozos explains. “it’s a give and take. You take care of something, and it gives back.” Appalatin has lavished that care on their music and community, and fans from all walks of life are giving back.