Flushing Town Hall is inviting families for a musical celebration with Grammy-nominated Sonia De Los Santos on Friday, June 24, to conclude the end of a challenging school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Flushing Town Hall is excited to welcome families to celebrate our city’s school children with this fun concert. We are all so proud of their resilience and accomplishments this past school year! It’s time to kick off summer with these amazing and engaging performers,” said Ellen Kodadek, executive and artistic director of Flushing Town Hall.
This event is a part of the monthlong Queens Rising celebration, showcasing the best of the borough’s cultural and creative diversity.
De Los Santos will perform two shows on June 24 at 4 p.m. and 7:15 p.m., bringing her bilingual songs to Flushing Town Hall, ready to make audiences smile with uplifting messages and a focus on cultural and community pride.
Those in attendance will enjoy songs that tell a story, featuring Latin rhythms, body percussion and traditional Mexican folk dance demonstrations.
The band will feature De Los Santos (vocals, guitar, jarana), Sinuhé Padilla-Isunza (leona, jarana), Elena Moon Park (violin, trumpet), Erica Kika Parra (drums), Berta Moreno (sax, clarinet), Fernando Brindis (bass) and Argelia Arreola (zapateado, jarana).
De Los Santos’s songs have been earning rave reviews around the country since 2015 when she released her first solo family music album, “Mi Viaje: De Nuevo León to the New York Island” (Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award Winner), a reflection on her experiences growing up in Mexico, moving to another country, learning about other cultures and preserving her own heritage.
In 2019, De Los Santos was nominated for a Latin Grammy with her second family music album, “¡Alegría!”
Billboard has hailed her as “one of the Latin Children’s music artists you should know” and named her to Billboard’s “Best Latin Children’s Music” list.
She has performed with her band in renowned venues and festivals throughout the country, including at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, The Getty Museum, Smithsonian Folklife Festival and many more.
In 2020, De Los Santos launched “En Casa con Sonia,” an online musical series recorded from her home and in 2021 debuted a new radio segment called “¿Qué Pasa, Sonia?” featuring some of her favorite songs at Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live.
De Los Santos recently released her third album, “Esperanza,” a bilingual collection of songs about hope, cherishing our cities and homes, being grateful to one another, dreaming of a better future, marveling at nature and finding the light within ourselves.
De Los Santos, who is a native of Monterrey, Mexico, moved to New York City shortly after earning her college degree in communications and discovered her calling — writing and performing songs for children — when she started touring with Grammy-winning children’s music troubadour Dan Zanes in 2007. She toured with Zanes for roughly 10 years.
You can catch a glimpse of two of Sonia’s colorful and vibrant performances here and here.
Sonia and her group will perform two shows at 4 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Tickets to the performance only are $12 for non-members and $8 for members and children. There is an additional workshop, beginning at 6:30 p.m., that has already sold out.
Tickets can also be purchased at flushingtownhall.org or by calling 718-463-7700 ext. 222.
