Newcomers join legends at Native Roots & Rhythms
By Jan-Mikael Patterson
Navajo Times
(Times photo - Donovan Quintero)
Levi Platero, 16, lead singer and guitarist for The Plateros from Tohajiilee, N.M., plays the blues last Friday at the Native Roots & Rhythms concert in Santa Fe.
The Paolo Soleri Amphitheater at the Santa Fe Indian School was the place to be this past weekend.
The 14th Annual Native Roots & Rhythms featured exceptional indigenous artists from throughout the world during two nights of music.
Friday night, dubbed "Tribal Harmony," featured the legendary Buffy Sainte-Marie with members of Ulali, the Plateros, Injunuity and Joe Tohonnie Jr.'s group.
The second night, "Reggae Roots & Riddems," featured Katchafire, Native Roots, Casper & the Mighty 602 Band, Lion Tribe and Princess Ataq. (See separate story)
The Santa Fe Indian School Spoken Word Club, Miss Indian World & Eskimo Dancers, and Joe Tohonnie Jr. and his Apache Crown Dancers performed first.
The Navajo Times arrived just in time to watch the Plateros perform an astounding set that featured some masterful guitar playing by 16-year-old Levi Platero, who also sang.
Levi's father, Murphy Platero, was on bass and vocals, and cousin Douglas Platero on drums kept the pace and rhythm.
Levi's bluesy sound clearly showed that his inspiration comes from Texas-based Los Lonely Boys and the late Stevie Ray Vaughn.
His guitar playing easily matched the latter in quality. His solos were explosive and the audience showed its appreciation with roaring cheers.
The highlight of his performance was the encore performance of the Los Lonely Boys hit "Heaven," in which Levi and his father Murphy shared the singing duties.
Again, his guitar playing was superb, every bit as professional as the Los Lonely Boys' CD.
"It was awesome," Levi said backstage following his band's performance. "I had a blast playing here."
Following the Plateros was a 10-minute performance from B-Girl Lunacee, real name Angela Gladue, a hip-hop and break-dancer from Edmonton, Alberta. She is one-half of the duo Urban Spirits, a Canadian dance company that educates young people about hip-hop music and its culture.
Gladue, Cree, has danced since 2003. A video showed on two screens flanking the stage, giving a flavor of the workshops she and partner James Jones host at schools. Their intent is to show that despite hip-hop's negative reputation, dancing is healthy and promotes positive energy.
Their fancy, swift, methodical footwork left audience members in awe. Younger members of the audience cheered Gladue as she performed on stage between the monitors, showcasing fast feet and poetic body movements.
"This was my first time doing this by myself," Gladue said. "My partner James had missed his flight so that meant I had to step up."
This was her first trip to the Southwest, she later said.
"This is the first time I've seen so much Native talent. This is the first time that I've been exposed to it," she said. "I was totally unaware that there was this many talented people."
On Saturday, Gladue repeated her performance during a 10-minute window before the last two acts.
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cree, took the stage following Gladue, joined by two members of Ulali, Soni Moreno and Jennifer Kreisberg.
Ulali is an acappella trio consisting of Moreno, Mayan/Apache/Yaqui, Kreisberg and Pura Fé, both Tuscarora. Fé was not present as she was doing her own solo project at the time.
As Sainte-Marie hit the stage, the audience welcomed her with a standing ovation.
She opened with "Piney Wood Hills," her crystal-clear voice soaring in the spotlight. A majestic presence at age 67, she seemed a lot younger as she belted out her 1971 song "He's an Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo," noting that Stoney Park sang it at her induction into the Juno Awards Hall of Fame in 1995.
She also sang numbers from her forthcoming album, "Running for the Drum," which will be released in the U.S. in a few months. She performed "Choto Fire," a powerfully charged, guttural number that showed her songwriting flare is undiminished.
Next she performed an unexpectedly intimate acoustic version of her best-known song, "Up Where We Belong."
"Man, I didn't know that was her song," said Melvin A. Nez, 17, from Espanola, N.M. "I've heard her name but I never knew she had a lot to do with music in Indian Country. She's awesome."
Next she sang "Darling, Don't Cry," a round dance song by Edmund Bull, lead singer with the Canadian group Red Bull, to which Sainte-Marie added lyrics to extend the story of a powwow man getting ready to head home to Canada.
She closed her show with "Universal Soldier" and "Starwalker."
Since this was Santa Fe, there had to be at least one unannounced star in the audience, which turned out to be Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Tilly ("Bullets Over Broadway"), taking a break from working on her new film.
"I've started coming to the Indian Market about three years ago," she said. "Coming here to catch the performances has been amazing, very inspiring."
Last to perform was Injunuity, an Oklahoma-based folk/rock band that delivered an eclectic and animated performance of music from the album "Unconquered." This is one band to look out for.
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