Paulo Padilha e Bando, area musical guests raise HIT roof

By KIM E. STROM

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Ironwood - Paulo Padilha e Bando played to a full house Saturday night at the Historic Ironwood Theatre. The crowd-pleasing band invited local people on stage, played rousing tunes from the sounds of Brazil and to the young peoples' delight even performed the song "Kiss" by Prince. At the end, everyone was on their feet.

The Brazilian band is part of Art Midwest World Fest which seeks to help people in smaller communities get exposure to and gain understanding of other cultures.

As part of this commitment, musical groups hold residencies in a chosen area for a week. Workshops were held in various area schools this past week. The week finished with a concert for the public.

Arts Midwest World Fest operates in nine different states. During a two-year cycle, four international musical performers will travel to the region, each spending time in local schools and performing at the theater.

Ironwood will host three more concerts in the series. The next will be in April of 2020. Hadar Maoz from Israel will teach and perform. Choor from China and Hikaru from Japan will also visit during the 2019-21 tour.

During the concert, Paulo addressed the crowd saying the performance was not just about listening to music but interacting and being together. "We love Ironwood," said Paulo, the leader of the group. "We are people working as partners, to join people, make a connection."

Drummer Andre voiced similar thoughts. "It was an amazing week," he said. "It's a beautiful area. Nice people."

He spoke about the group's travel and mission.

"This exchange is so important, not only for us but the world," he said. "It's different to go inside the country and not only travel to big cities." He named some of the larger cities in Brazil and in the United States. "They're the same," he said. "It's so different here. The lake. It's spiritual. You can feel this."

"And pasties. I love the pasties," said Andre, who has been nominated for an Emmy Award in Brazil, and also plays the piano.

Local performers during the concert included some area band students the group had worked with earlier in the week.