Extra Golden to Perform at the Orange Show on Saturday, June 14

The most unique venue in Houston, the Orange Show, will be presenting another live music event this Saturday, June 14. Kenyan-American tropical indie rock band Extra Golden will be adding their energetic blend of rock and benga music to the already surreal atmosphere that surrounds this folk art monument. The band even has the Obama stamp of approval: his office helped them obtain the visas necessary to make their American concert debut. Obama-sistible!

Follow the jump for the press release and more info

Kenyan-American Indie Rock Comes to Houston
Extra Golden...Live at The World Famous Orange Show!

HOUSTON, TX – The amphitheater of The Orange Show will once again come alive with music on Saturday, June 14th as the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art welcomes Extra Golden. The trans-oceanic collaboration of DC indie rockers and Nairobi-based benga musicians, Extra Golden has burst on to the American music scene with a sound that mixes jangling guitars and driving drums with soaring rock riffs and soulful vocals. Their songs are equal parts heavenly joy and earthly melancholy, but always undeniably danceable.

The band was formed when guitarist Ian Eagleson traveled to Nairobi to study the Kenyan pop music known as benga for his master’s degree in ethnomusicology. Together with fellow American guitarist Alex Minoff and members of well-known Kenyan band Orchestra Extra Solar Africa, they formed Extra Golden. The band’s debut album was recorded in just three hours in an open air nightclub in downtown Nairobi. Though they received critical acclaim the future of Extra Golden seemed cut short with the tragic death of lead singer Otieno Jagwasi from AIDS complications. Benga vocalist Opiyo Bilongo stepped in to fill the void and the band was invited to perform at the Chicago World Music Festival in 2006. Their American concert debut was threatened by visa delays that required the help of none other than Democratic presidential candidate and Barack Obama. In response the band wrote a song of thanks honoring the half-Kenyan Senator from Ilinois, simply titled "Obama."

Extra Golden’s latest release, Hera Ma Nono, has been collecting accolades from media such as Fader, Pitchfork, Blender, Stylus and Paste. Their music and story have been featured on NPR’s "All Things Considered" and "Day To Day." Recorded in a cabin in the Pocono Mountains, Hera Ma Nono solidifies Extra Golden as much more than a cross-cultural curiosity. The high energy, electric guitar-driven beats of benga fuse effortlessly with American funk traditions, resulting in songs that are guaranteed to have the audience up on their feet dancing at The Orange Show.

Houston’s own DJ Sun will be on hand spinning global grooves to get the crowd moving. Get there early for an eye opening tour of one of the best known folk art sites in America, The Orange Show, and enjoy tasty Summer brews from Saint Arnold.

WHAT: Extra Golden...Live at The World Famous Orange Show!

With DJ Sun

WHEN: Saturday, June 14th – Doors Open 7pm / Show Starts 8pm

WHERE: The Orange Show - 2402 Munger Street

COST: $12 – Presale

Tickets available online at www.orangeshow.org

$15 – Door

If you live in the Houston area and have not yet paid a visit to the magnificence that is the Orange Show, you simply must. Seriously. Whenever this city is kicking my ass, I remind myself that any place that contains such a curiously beautiful establishment can't be all bad.

--Cereal