Kalakan trio to play concerts on the West Coast

Mitchell Handler, Reporter

Kalakan trio playing at the Chino Basque Club. Photo by Linda Indaburu Iriart

Kalakan, a Basque band who played with superstar Madonna during her tour last year, will be performing at multiple events on the West Coast through early October.

They are arriving Thursday and will give a workshop for young accordionists, part of the Txantxangorriak group in Boise. On Saturday night, they will be performing in Mountain Home, where many Boise Basques are expected to attend to hear them play. On Sunday, Sept. 29, the band will play at the St. Michael’s Festival in Ontario, Oregon before moving on to California to perform at dinner shows. The group will perform on Friday, Oct. 4 in South San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 5 in Bakersfield and Sunday, Oct. 6 in Chino. Their tour ended with shows in New York City, for the New York Basque Club centennial celebration.

Kalakan plays traditional Basque music using a mix of percussion instruments, including txalaparta, danborrak, pandereta and ttun ttun. The group, composed of Thierry Biscary, Jean Michel Bereau and Xan Errotabehere, better known as Ttirritt, Jamixel and Xan, first met Madonna in 2011 during her vacation in southwest France. In 2012 they participated in the star’s MDNA world tour.

They played one of their songs “Sagarra Jo” with Madonna as part of her tour and she also revamped an old song, “Open your heart,” to include Kalakan.

Madonna told fans during her concerts that she met Kalakan when they played at a birthday party for her  while she was visiting the Basque Country and she invited them to join her on her tour.

See more reports on Kalakan’s tour with Madonna:

Madonna admires Basque culture

Madonna kicks off World Tour with Basque band Kalakan

Madonna to collaborate with Basque trio