SambaDa - The big bold ensemble that Santa Cruz can’t get enough of.

Band Members:

Papiba Godinho- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Cavaco, Percussion

Dandha Da Hora- Lead Vocals, Percussion, Dance

Anne Stafford- Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Percussion, Vocals

Kevin Dorn- Bass and Percussion

Gary Kehoe- Drum set, Percussion, Vocals

Will Kahn- Electric Guitar, MPC, Percussion, Drum set, Vocals

Marcel Menard- Percussion and Vocals

Marcio Peeter- Percussion

Wagner Santos Profeta- Percussion and Vocals

The nine piece band SambaDa becomes a familiar name once you’ve spent enough time in Santa Cruz. The local favorite has been touring for years all throughout the U.S., Brazil and everywhere in between. Afro-Cuban beats meet funk, samba and surf-rock grooves with jazz/ska inspired horns peppered in for a healthy variety of soulful sound. The extremely positive high energy the band creates is what maintains their massive and enthusiastic fan base, many of whom become part of the band’s unofficial dance troupe

While Godinho, Da Hora and Profeta claim the band’s Brazilian origin, most of the remaining members are CA natives. SambaDa has always felt their music belongs on the beach, so it is no surprise to see them at least a couple times during the summer at the Crow’s Nest Thursday night beach parties. The tirelessly touring band keeps things fresh in their lineup with new songs and continuous travel aspirations. “We are revamping our show right now to have a different dynamic to give people a new take on SambaDa, and we plan on taking this on the road, hopefully back to NYC and the east coast, New Orleans jazz fest and back to Hawaii!” explains Dorn. “We have a bunch of new songs, both originals and some deep traditional Brazilian songs that have a lot of history behind them.”

SambaDa’s latest album Gente! is available at their website along with past albums Salve a Bahia and New Roots, Novas Raizes. SambaDa will be playing in Arcata, San Luis Obispo and Monterey (just to name a few) before they return to the bay area to play San Francisco’s Independent on 12/16. For event information and tickets go to sambada.com/shows