At first glance, the Rickshaw Stop is an unlikely spot to host one of the world’s most celebrated Balkan musicians. For one, the Civic Center venue lacks a marquee to promote upcoming acts. It’s devoid of any signage, actually, that might indicate what’s behind the tentacles-and-glaring-eye mural adorning the façade: one of San Francisco’s essential musical outposts.
As if presenting a steady stream of Noise Pop acts last week wasn’t enough, Rickshaw Stop once again presents a brass bacchanal with the 18th annual Kafana Balkan party this Saturday, March 8. As in many past editions, the festivities center on Macedonian clarinet great Ismail Lumanovski, leader of the New York Gypsy Allstars. He’s joined by the Bay Area’s Inspector Gadje Balkan Brass Band and, in celebration of International Women’s Day, a dazzling cast of women artists, including Mexican vocalist Diana Gameros, Lebanese-American singer-songwriter Naima Shalhoub, Lo Cura frontwoman Kata Miletich, and violinist Briana Di Mara.
Percussionist Marco Peris, a founding member of Inspector Gadje, says the collaboration with Gameros grew organically out of previous work together. “She’s in the middle of recording a new album at Women’s Audio Mission, and she called us to do one track with her,” says Peris. “It sounded so good, we said ‘We’ve got to do this live,’ and she was excited about getting involved.”
Beyond a sneak preview of Gameros’ first new album in eight years, Saturday’s show will include Shalhoub performing a song by legendary Lebanese vocalist Fairuz, and the return of Miletich, “who’s done so many Kafanas, she’s our unofficial singer,” Peris said.
But the artist who imbued Kafana Balkan with instant gravitas and international visibility is Lumanovski. In a fractious scene that embodies the conflicts that turned “Balkan” into a descriptor for divisions, he is universally hailed as a champion of the region’s intertwined musical traditions. He’s the first Roma clarinet player to graduate from Juilliard, and his virtuosity in Western classical and Eastern European folk idioms make his clarinet performances singularly rousing.
“People only say great things about him,” Peris said. “When I was traveling in Eastern Europe, looking to connect with Balkan musicians, I’d show the video of me playing with Ismael, and it was like a passport all over.”
While Kafana Balkan was born as an underground party in a warehouse, by its second season in 2007 it had found a welcoming home at the Rickshaw. The organization has also made forays into Oakland, producing several shows at the sadly defunct Starline Social Club, but they have been mindful not to step on any toes in the East Bay’s thriving Balkan scene (which is centered in Berkeley, at Ashkenaz and the Starry Plough).
Now, with nearly two decades of ecstatic dance parties under their belts, Kafana Balkan isn’t looking for another venue.
“They treat us right on all fronts,” Peris says of the Rickshaw Stop, calling out one staff member in particular: “It became our living room because we feel so comfortable with Michael ‘Harp’ Casey doing sound … with all those horns and 17 inputs, we live or die by the sound engineer.”
Kafana Balkan’s 18th Anniversary Party with Ismail Lumanovski and Inspector Gadje Balkan Brass Band, featuring Diana Gameros, Kate Miletich, Naima Shalhoub, and Briana di Mara takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 at the Rickshaw Stop (155 Fell Street). Tickets ($20 and up) and more info here.