Lakou Mizik [Festival Of Fools After Party]

Signal Kitchen + Festival Of Fools Present: Lakou Mizik [Festival Of Fools After Party] at Nectar’s.

*To avoid online fees, purchase tickets at Pure Pop Records in downtown Burlington, VT*

Lakou Mizik is a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their collective culture and communicate a message of pride, strength and hope to their countrymen and the world.

Music is at the core of Haiti’s sense of identity, and musicians have always played an important role in society, both in documenting the country’s history and helping to shape its path forward. Today, a young generation of artists is keeping this tradition alive, narrating the tenuous world they live in through music that is made in crowded neighborhoods, remote villages and post-earthquake ghettoes. Lakou Mizik merges these musical generations creating a cultural continuum that uses Haiti’s deep well of creative strength to speak truth to power and to shine a positive light on this chronically misrepresented country.

The idea for the band was hatched in 2010 on a hot November night in Port-au-Prince. Haiti was still reeling from the earthquake, a cholera epidemic was raging, and a political crisis filled the streets with enough tire burning ferocity to close the international airport. Steeve Valcourt, a guitarist and singer whose father was one of the country’s iconic musicians, singer Jonas Attis and American producer Zach Niles met in Valcourt’s muggy basement studio and agreed that Haiti’s music and culture could serve as an antidote to the flood of negativity.