On Wednesday, January 30th, Burlington, VT’s own Barika lent support to Robert Walter’s 20th Congress at Higher Ground. While the two bands play very different styles of music, members of the two groups are quite familiar with playing together. Members of both Barika (percussionist Craig Myers) and the recent iteration of Robert Walter’s 20th Congress (keyboardist Robert Walter, drummer John Kimock) tour the country with Phish bassist Mike Gordon as part of his solo band, so who better to show up and lend a musical hand than Mike Gordon himself? Well, that’s exactly what happened.

Barika—comprised of Craig Myers, Dopapod’s Rob Compa, Caleb Bronz, Giovanni “Johnny” Rovetto, Chris Hawthorn, and Matt Davide—kicked off the evening’s festivities with their unique blend of “funky, dubbed out, psychedelic West African” sounds. The first guest of the night came early in the set when Daby Touré joined in on vocals. Midway through their set, Barika was joined by Mike Gordon, Robert Walter, and John Kimock for a collaborative rendition of original number “Angatta”, which the collected musicians frequently performed together at Mike Gordon shows.

Today, Live For Live Music is pleased to premiere Barika’s multi-cam video for “Angatta” featuring Mike Gordon, Robert Walter, and John Kimock. Craig Myers shared his thoughts on the special “family affair” sit-in, explaining:

It was a joy playing with Mike, Johnny, and Robert in the setting of Barika, and I love the energy they bring to this song. Both bands, Mike Gordon’s band and Barika, play ‘Angatta’, but in very different ways. Mike is such a creative and interactive player that it makes for great collective musical conversations. Not to mention Robert’s organ playing and Johnny’s deep pocket grooves. Always a pleasure to play with all of them.

Mike Gordon adds,

I love working with Craig; he brings a lot of fire and passion, not to mention innovation. And he often has great intuition about what’s working and what isn’t… So it makes sense that his own band would create a thoughtfully constructed, firey flow of sound! Mixing his traditional African instrument with all the fix-ins of a good dance band – horns, guitar, etc. – makes for a fun night, and always a fun sit-in!

You can check out the Live For Live Music premiere of Barika’s new video for “Angatta” below:

Barika ft. Mike Gordon, Robert Walter, & John Kimock – “Angatta” [Pro-Shot Video]

For a full list of Barika’s upcoming tour dates and ticketing information, head to the band’s website.

Setlist: Barika | Higher Ground | Burlington, VT | 1/30/2019

Set: On The Move, Hit The Ground, Bless The Child, Gotta Be Another Way (ft. Daby Touré), Dark Star, Angatta (ft. Mike Gordon, John Kimock, Robert Walter), Bamanaké