Chuck Prophet w/Flaco El Jandro at The Hamilton Live in Washington DC on January 22, 2025
It was a tough week in Washington, DC, and the locals needed a remedy. Chuck Prophet knows something about remedies, especially musical ones. As he was being treated for Stage 4 lymphoma a couple of years ago, his body and spirit found comfort and healing in Cumbia – a style of folk and dance music that originated in Colombia. He immersed himself in that style, and his most recent album “Wake the Dead” on Yep Roc has been heavily influenced by it.
The Cumbia combo ¿Qiensave? (Who Knows?), worked with Chuck to record “Wake the Dead,” and Chuck’s touring band features some of those artists, notably Mario Cortez on percussion and vocals, Flaco El Jandro (Alejandro Gomez) on guitar, keys and vocals, Mike Anderson on bass, along with Mission Express members James De Prato on guitar and Vicente Rodriguez on drums. Along with the new lineup comes a new setlist, which, as you might expect, draws very heavily from “Wake the Dead.” The show also featured some older Prophet material I had not heard him perform with The Mission Express before a couple of well chosen covers. The fusion of Cumbia and the live presentation of Chuck’s songs could be ideal soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino movie.
The Hamilton had a huge crowd for a Wednesday and Chuck and the band served up the tunes, the laughs and high, positive energy through nineteen songs. Even though every week still has a Wednesday, either the frigid weather, the “school night” effect or heaven-knows-what-else-is-going-on-this-week-in-DC seemed to tamp down the exuberance in the crowd. Despite that, the audience was on its feet when the set drew to a close. I’m glad the audience was able to give a little back, because Chuck and the band certainly put in a hundred and twenty percent.
Prior to taking his place in Chuck’s band that night, Flaco El Jandro borrowed Chuck’s six string acoustic guitar and opened the show with a spirited solo set of his own songs. Flaco, who played 12 string guitar and keyboards while backing Chuck, was the perfect choice to get the crowd warmed up for the evening’s main event.
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Interview: “Wake the Dead” The Recovery, Reinvigoration of Chuck Prophet
Find more details and information here on Chuck’s website: https://chuckprophet.com
Check out Flaco El Jandro here: https://www.flacoeljandro.com
