NATION BEAT is a NYC-Brazilian collision that parades with an infectious, audacious energy, seamlessly bridging folkloric Brazilian rhythms with classic American roots music in an altogether creative and original manner. NB’s 21st Century fusion is an explosion of thunderous Brazilian maracatu drumming and New Orleans second line rhythms, Appalachian-inspired bluegrass music, funk, rock, and country- blues. It is also at the heart of their incendiary live show—which is frequently known to burst into crowd-wide Carnival-style drumming and singing, attracting music fans from a wide demographic: American roots music fans, Brazilian music lovers, outdoor festival-goers and pretty much anyone who loves to dance and loves great music.
The group is fronted by the soaring powerhouse vocalist and rising Brazilian star Liliana Araujo—already garnering comparisons to the great Virginia Rodriguez—and led by artistic director/founder Scott Kettner, a 2006 Latin Jazz Ambassador, who at once is following the path of such Brazilian luminaries as Lenine and Chico Science, and forging new trails in a distinct contemporary interpretation of the traditional 19th-century Pernembuco-born maracatu rhythm.