Touching down in Utica at 2:45 a.m. Monday, Dominican-American salsa artist EhShawnee looked out the window at the city of Utica.
“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s beautiful,'” she said. “It reminds me of Providence, the town I’m from. It’s very small, but we have a lot of diversity and a lot of culture there.”
The Mohawk Valley Latino Association has teamed up with Levitt AMP Utica to bring award-winning artist EhShawnee to Utica for two days of Latin American music and celebration on Sunday, August 28th and Monday, August 29th.
The first concert will be held at MVLA’s 16th Annual Latin American Festival. Both concerts will be free admission and will close the Levitt AMP Summer Concert Series for the year.
Born in the Dominican Republic, EhShawnee moved to Providence, Rhode Island at a young age and has spent her musical career touring the Dominican Republic and the United States. She is particularly popular in the Dominican Republic, where she has released several top 10 singles and was named “Best New Act” by Premio Conga de la Salsa in 2019. She was also just named “Best International Artist” by Premio Conga this year.
EhShawnee said she is “very happy, very excited to share new things with my people here in Utica.”
EhShawnee will perform alongside a 12-piece salsa band. While her music is primarily salsa, she says she often incorporates elements of styles from other Latin American countries as well as Arabic music.
“We saw him perform last summer and came back and said, ‘We absolutely have to bring him here,'” said Michelle Truett, Levitt AMP Utica coordinator. “There were so many instruments I can’t even tell you. They provide this layered sound that’s impossible not to dance to.”
MVLA’s 16th Annual Latin American Festival will take place from noon to 7 p.m., Sunday, August 28 at Hanna Park, 1 Kennedy Plaza, Utica. The festival will kick off with a Latin cultural fashion show as well as a parade featuring children representing the cultural diversity of the Mohawk Valley.
Other activities will include the annual domino tournament and Zumba. Several children’s activities will also be available such as hula hooping, relay races, Double Dutch, water balloons and face painting. EhShawnee will perform alongside her band and there will be performances from Latin singer H-Melody and DJ Richy. Food vendors will also be present.
The second and final performance of Levitt Amp’s summer concert series will take place in Copernicus Park at Eagle and Genesee Streets. ZZ Trio will open for EhShawnee at 6 p.m., and EhShawnee will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. ZZ, the face of ZZ Trio, said they perform a mix of pop, soul and Motown funk.
“Get a chair and just camp out and watch the bands because it’s so much fun,” ZZ said. “It’s not too late to drag your friends, your family, your parents. Tell them to come down and it will be beautiful.”
