Due to international passport issues for Belize-based Garifuna Collective, their FirstWorks Summer Beats concert has been moved to a new date and time:  Wednesday, July 19, 6 PM at Roger Williams Park Bandstand. 

This multi-generational music ensemble is the living embodiment of a unique Afro-Caribbean heritage. As representatives of the Garifuna people, a distinct language and cultural diaspora spanning the Central American coastline, these musicians harness the indomitable energy of their African and Indigenous ancestors. Their irrepressible, positive energy inspires a joyful celebration at each performance.

The Garifuna Collective has performed in over 30 countries across 5 continents and was part of the most celebrated global albums of all time: the critically acclaimed “Wátina,” recipient of the Womex and BBC World Music Award and voted the Number One World Music Album of All Time by Amazon.

The powerful sound of the two traditional Garifuna drums – the Primero and the Segunda – sparks feverish dance floors over a foundation of ancestral beats. Driving maracas, turtle shells, guitars and swinging bass grooves blend with powerful call and response vocals to tell stories through music, dance, and traditional costume.

The Garifuna people are the descendants of an Afro-Indigenous population from the Caribbean island of St Vincent who were exiled to the Honduran coast in the eighteenth century and subsequently moved to Belize. Learn more