Bronx Music Hall is a community performing arts center in Melrose, The Bronx. It’s the best representation we know, of all the communities that make The Bronx Beautiful ~ truly the Lincoln Center of The Bronx, verda! No matter your heritage, you will feel at home here. One of things you may learn from these great artists, is how similar we are (once you get off your high horse).
Latin Culture at the Bronx Music Hall
MAY
Bronx Week Events
- Palabras Abiertas (Open Words) is a multilingual open mic hosted by Bronx poet Sumbodies Mama (Jesica Blandon); at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 7pm. $5. 🇵🇷
- Bronx Rising!: A Tribute to Gigi Gryce, pays tribute to the African American Bronx jazz musician and educator, with readings by biographer Noal Cohan and Gryce’s music played by the Alexis Cole Quartet; at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 7pm. 🇺🇸
- Emerging Voices in Latin Jazz: Cocomama features NYC’s multinational women’s Latin jazz band; at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 7pm.
- Bronx Arts Ensemble plays Black chamber music at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 7pm. 🇺🇸
MARCH
Puerto Rican Jazz Tribute to Cuban Son
Learn about the life and music of Arsenio Rodríguez, “El Ciego Maravilloso,” the blind Cuban tres player who changed the course of Cuban son (which became Latin jazz and salsa in New York, and timba in Cuba), with a screening of the Rodríguez biography “La vida es un sueno” by Arlety Veunes Toro, followed by a performance of Rodríguez’ music by the Bronx’s own Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band featuring vocalists Jennifer Jade Ledesna, Gerardo Contino “El Abogado de la Salsa,” Oreste Abrantes, plus Benjamin Lapidus on tres. It’s at the Bronx Music Hall in beautiful Melrose, The Bronx; on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 7pm. $25. ci.ovationtix.com 🇨🇺 🇵🇷
Editor Iroko KíkoKí ~ I’d pay good money to see any of these artists by themselves. Together at home in The Bronx, WEPA, WEPA, WEPA, vamos a gozar! Bring your dance shoes because your butt is going to move all by itself.
OCTOBER
After over a decade of effort, the Bronx Music Hall opens with a diverse range of great music.
Bronx Hip Hop, House, & Haitian
Grandmaster Caz and MC Sha-Rock hip hop, Uptown Vinyl Supreme spins Black and Latin house, and Kongo plays Haitian Vodou drums, to open the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Friday, October 18, 2024; with a panel at 5:30pm, opening reception at 6:30pm, and performances at 8pm. $350 🇺🇸 🇵🇷 🇭🇹
Grandmaster Caz (Curtis Brown) was a member of the iconic Cold Crush Brothers. He’s old school from even before the New York City Blackout of 1977. When Sylvia Robinson put together a crew to make “Rapper’s Delight,” the first hip hop record, singer Big Bank Hank had Caz’s lyrics and rapped them pretty much straight up. Having your rhymes stolen was the reason early rappers wouldn’t record. Anyway, Caz is the real deal. @therealgrandmastercaz 🇺🇸
MC Sha-Rock (Sharon Green) is “The Mother of the Mic,” generally considered the first female rapper. Back in the day, that was something, and she still rocks the mic. @iammcsharock 🇺🇸
Uptown Vinyl Supreme is Sunny Cheeba, Buddy, and Josh Hubi. No digital here, only old school vinyl, real for real. It’s how we do it in The Bronx. #VinylToThePeople @uptownvinylsupreme
- Sunny Cheeba is one of our favorite+favorite DJs. @sunnnaay 🇵🇷
- Buddy @uptowndollyandvenus
- Josh Hubi @joshhubi 🇹🇷 🇵🇷
Kongo is a Haitian folkloric group in The Bronx. They are Vodou drummers, one of the deepest roots of jazz and American popular music. Deeper than that, you might think you have to go to Mother Afrika, but according to the Smithsonian, the best living example of pre-contact African drumming isn’t in Africa any more, it’s in Haiti. When we start something new, we always start with drumming, singing, and dancing to invite divine blessings. When you hear the call of the drum, you know that everyone is gathering in peace. What a great way to open the Bronx Music Hall. 🇭🇹
Puerto Ricans make a big deal about our Indigenous Taíno roots, but the Taíno heartland was the island of Ayiti / Quisqueya / Hispaniola. We also make a big deal about our West African roots, but many Africans brought to Ayiti were from Central Africa. Though Vodou comes from Benin, it’s essence is Central African Kongo. And though various regions in the Americas have different blends of Yoruba, Dahomey, and Kongo, the Kongo culture seems to be everywhere, especially in music.
New Orleans Jazz & Bronx Jazz
Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band and Ricky Gordon & The Individuals of Peace play modern and second line (old school parade) jazz; at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Saturday, October 19, 2024; with a reception at 6pm and performances at 8pm. $350 🇵🇷 🇺🇸
Berklee College of Music is famous for developing successful jazz musicians. Bobby Sanabria, a real Son of the Bronx, was the first Latin in the school.
Kpanlogo & Garifuna
Yawuza Alhassan & the Wuza Wuza Ensemble play Ghanian kpanlogo urban dance drumming, and Grupo Maburuaña does Garifuna dance drumming; at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at 3pm. $25 🇬🇭 🇭🇳
Yawuza Alhassan & the Wuza Wuza Ensemble plays kpanlogo, a Ghanian form of urban dance drumming that mixed rock and roll into Ghanian traditions. The rhythm is the same as son clave used in Cuban music. Early rocker Bo Diddley brought the rhythm into rock and roll. Our traditions keep crossing back and forth across the water. @yawuzaalhassan 🇬🇭
Grupo Maburuaña does Garifuna dance drumming. The Garifuna are an Afro-Indigenous community, originally from Saint Vincent, and later from Honduras and Belize. The Bronx has a vibrant Garifuna community. 🇭🇳
Featured Artists
- Anthony Blackwell, African American Argentine tango. 🇦🇷
- Bobby Sanabria, Puerto Rican jazz. 🇵🇷
- Gagá Pa’l Pueblo Dominican gagá spring festival. 🇩🇴
- Jarana Beat Mexican son jarocho and fandango. 🇲🇽
- Nélida Tirado Flamenco Arte 718 traditional flamenco. 🇵🇷 🇪🇸
- New York Opera Alliance. 🗽
- Rock the Bronx music festival. 🗽
- Villalobos Brothers Mexican pop alternative. 🇲🇽
Bronx Music Hall Tickets
Bronx Music Hall
438 East 163rd St
(at Washington)
Melrose, The Bronx
About the Bronx Music Hall
The Hall opened in October 2024. It’s a project of the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco) which develops affordable housing. That’s important because women are the guardians of culture. Lead producers include Elena Martínez, the folklorist of The Bronx; and Bobby Sanabria, Bronx born and raised, multiple Grammy-nominated jazz drummer, composer, and educator. If you want to know the real history of The Bronx, Elena and Bobby are two of the people you want to talk to.
Melrose was once an entertainment hub like Greenwich Village is now. Bronx Music Hall is an important step in bringing entertainment back to Bronx communities. This is Bronx Rising!
And it’s not just a performance space, it’s a space to teach and learn. Once upon a time in The Bronx, the drum never stopped. The opening of the Bronx Music Hall is the return of the drum. This is a great place to learn various forms of drumming and dancing, including Puerto Rican bomba, Colombian cumbia, Dominican gagá, African American tap, Spanish flamenco, Indian classical, and more. Bronx Music Heritage Center programs have moved here. Some of New York’s leading cultural organizations collaborate on programming. Big stars and community leaders teach and perform.
Social Media
X @bx_music
Facebook @bxmusic
Instagram @bxmusic
YouTube @bronxmusicheritagecenter3619