Wishing You a Joyful Omnidenominational Holiday

Over the last several years the Wesleyan-originated band Buru Style has been seen in several formats: as the backing band to reggae and soul vocalists Toussaint Liberator, Shasha Marley, Ajahni, and Lady Lee, as an avant-garde instrumental dub-reggae unit, as the house band at Caribbean vocalist showcases at Boston’s Western Front. For their latest release, The Omnidenominational Holiday Experience, the group’s core members pooled their musical resources and created an entirely self-produced album featuring novel takes on holiday music from several faiths.

The results? A N’awlins-funk inspired take of “Dreidel, Dreidel,” a punky version of “We 3 Kings” that would fit neatly on a Strokes album, a cosmically chill dub rendering of “Silent Night,” a reggaeton-meets-Run DMC “Jingle Bells” with guest MC Kabir and a local children’s choir, “Hannukah, oh Hannukah” in an eerie electronic fashion, and a celebratory Meters-esque version of “Auld Lang Syne.”

The band’s drummer and founder Bill Carbone, a Wesleyan University music teacher and PhD candidate in ethnomusicology, has hosted holiday concerts the last two years but finally realized that one must start recording while it is still warm in order to have music ready for the season!

Buru Style will celebrate the release of the CD with a holiday fundraiser concert at Middletown’s Green Street Arts Center on Friday December 3rd. The show will also feature other acts from the area—House of Moses, Blues not Bombs, The Japanese, Static Stamina, The Community Music Initiative Kid Singers and several more—all performing short sets featuring novel takes on holiday music.  WESU DJ Lord Lewis will spin holiday funk between acts.


The Music: The Omnidenominational Holiday Experience is available for streaming or download at burustyle.bandcamp.com (Dreidel, Dreidel is free).  Full copies are available for review. Physical copies will be available at concerts and select Middletown businesses.


The Show: Friday December 3rd, The Green Street Arts Center, 51 Green St., Middletown, CT. 860.685.7871, 7pm, $5. Canned goods will be collected for the Amazing Grace Food Pantry as well!