Skip to content

MusicFest books Mavericks

The band that defied definitions, blurred genres, and made everybody feel good is back.

The country-steeped garage band with a Cuban American lead singer that had emerged from Miami in 1989 reunited in 2012 after an eight-year hiatus.

Time has a way of melting when you're busy living life — and two decades have passed since their polyrhythmic brand of post-modern country has given the world great songs like All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down, Here Comes The Rain, and Dance The Night Away.

With their new album In Time, time melts once again, and the band that defied definitions, blurred genres, and made everybody feel good is back. The "most interesting band in the world" has captured the infectious energy and robust sound from their live shows on their new Valory Music release In Time.

Songs like Dance In The Moonlight, the Orbison-esque Born To Be Blue, the horn-punctuated retro noir Back In Your Arms Again, and the Tejano-esque All Over Again prove that the Mavericks have once again found the way to make genre-defying soul music.

For all the polish and sophistication, sold out shows at the U.K.'s Royal Albert Hall, cultural blurring and tours of South America and Europe, United States and Canada, The Mavericks are indeed a post-punk band with deep retro-fittings from Miami's indie scene.  Those who have seen The Mavericks in concert say it’s hard to tell who is having more fun … the audience or the band.

Winners of two Academy of Country Music Awards, and a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group, The Mavericks’ lead singer Raul Malo said this about the reuniting of the band.

“It took life for us to get to this point — everybody was so free.  From the first notes, it sounded like an explosion of sound; we went where the songs took us with a singularity of purpose. We came in to make music as grown-ups, to make music as men.”

The 20th anniversary edition of the Vancouver Island MusicFest takes place July 11 to 13. For a complete list of performers and tickets go to www.islandmusicfest.com.

— Vancouver Island MusicFest