New York's SummerStage festival to showcase Catalan musicians for 2nd year in a row

Barcelona (ACN).- This year, bands Oques Grasses and La iaia, singer-songwriter Sílvia Pérez Cruz and DJ Guillamino will perform in Central Park. The New York SummerStage Festival will present the 2^nd edition of 'Catalan Sounds on Tour' on 28 June, a Sunday afternoon of Catalan music at this internationally-renown festival. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend, with the event being free and running from 2.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Institut Ramon Llull (a public body for the promotion of Catalan language and cultural production abroad) and the SummerStage Festival. Its purpose is to bring Catalan music to international audiences.

Oques Grasses is a Catalan band from Osona County (northern Barcelona Province) whose debut album 'Un dia no sé com' was released in 2013. After becoming a revelation of the Catalan music scene, the 7-member band have kicked off their 'Living in the hol•les' 2015 tour, promoting their second album. In the coming months, they will be performing in Catalonia, València, Alicante, Castelló, as well as Europe and America, being in the line-up for festivals like Canet Rock and Barcelona Guitar Festival.

Meanwhile, the Catalan trio La iaia was awarded the best 2014 pop-rock album prize by Enderrock (a monthly Catalan music magazine) for their second album 'On és la màgia?'. Folkie, friendly La iaia are often described by critics as the "first power trio in the history of Catalan rock", offering a daring blend of dreamlike and original tracks.

Sílvia Pérez Cruz, singer and songwriter from Palafrugell (on the Costa Brava), is these days becoming one of Spain’s brightest stars. Gold Award-winner for her two latest albums and Goya winner (Spanish Cinema Academy Award) for Best Original Song in the film ‘Blancanieves’ (Pablo Berger, 2012), Pérez Cruz walks comfortably through Portuguese fado, jazz, flamenco, folk songs and classical music. After many collaborative projects (with Joan Manuel Serrat, Javier Colina, Toti Soler, Israel Galván), she wrote, recorded and produced her first solo album '11 de novembre', which was voted amongst the best records of the year in Spain and France. Classically trained, with a degree in vocal jazz, she plays various instruments and has a delicate and precious voice.

Finally, DJ Guillamino is considered one of the most surprising and unpredictable figures of the Barcelona music scene. Mixing electronic, hip hop and funk with music from around the world and singing with a soulful voice, he has played at Barcelona Sonar Festival several times, as well as in the USA, Canada, Japan, Chile, and throughout Europe.

SummerStage Festival, which this year celebrates its 30^th edition, is a programme of high-quality artistic performances organised by the City Parks Foundation in different green spaces in New York, mainly Central Park during the summer.

The festival strives to develop audiences' deepening appreciation for contemporary, traditional, and emerging artists as well as the communities from which these artists originate. Last year, Catalan artists Txarango, Mishima and DJ Headbirds took part in the festival.

To celebrate its 30^th anniversary, the SummerStage Festival has extended the season from May to October, showcasing nearly 200 artists ranging from opera to hip-hop, film to circus, and everything in between. The outdoor activities outdoors are open and accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.