The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Michela Musolino, Rosa Tatuata ready for gig
BRANFORD — Get ready for the music and dance of Sicily, take 2...
Michela Musolino and Rosa Tatuata (Rose Tattoo) were supposed to bring Sicilian folk and dance music to the Branford Folk Music Society back on Dec. 9, but the ever-unpredictable southern New England weather didn’t cooperate.
So they’ll be back on Saturday to give it another shot.
Showtime is 8 p.m. Admission is $20 for nonmembers, $17 for members and $5 for children 12 and under. The show will take place in the auditorium of the First Congregational Church of Branford (1009 Main St., on the Green). For more information, call 203-488-7715 or go online to branfordfolk.org.
Because spring has begun to creep in despite itself, Musolino and her band will present a concert centered on the themes of rebirth, growth and renewal, and the celebrations of Carnevale and St. Joseph’s Day, Branford Folk said in a news release.
There will also be dancing, with audience participation encouraged.
Love of the music from that region is what drives New York City-based Tatuata to interpret the traditions and melodies of its members’ ancestors.
The band plays a mix of ballads and dance tunes and features such traditional instruments as the tamburo (Sicilian frame drum), organetto, marranzano (jaw’s harp) and zampogna (southern Italian bagpipes), the release said.
Ensemble leader Musolino is American born and raised, but has been “carrying on a love affair with Sicilian music since growing up in a household where Sicilian dialect was spoken,” the band said in the release.
She will be joined on stage by Phil Passantino, Charlie Rutan and Jeffrey Panettieri. Attendees are advised to “bring their dancing shoes.”