Brand Summer Concert Series

Orchestre Moto

Join us for a live performance by Orchestre Moto on Friday, August 14 starting at 7:00 PM. The Summer Concert Series features eclectic live music outside on the lawn behind Brand Library & Art Center.

Enjoy a live performance by Orchestre Moto on Friday, August 14 starting at 7:00 PM. Join us for eclectic live music outside on the lawn behind Brand Library & Art Center. Visitors are welcome to bring a chair or blanket and picnic on the grassy hillsides in Brand Park. Seats are not provided. Performances run 60 - 90 minutes without intermission. Performances may be experienced by children and families.

Orchestre Moto is a Los Angeles and New York-based ensemble with a constellation of roots stretching from Kinshasa to Brazzaville to Lubumbashi to Pointe-Noire, dedicated to the Congolese sound. Moto means “fire” in Lingala: a name that reflects the explosive, high-energy guitar and drum heavy African dance music they bring to the stage. They were recently mentioned in the New York Times and featured in the April edition of Brooklyn Rail Magazine.

The ensemble performs a rich tapestry of genres, including Congolese rumba, sebene, mutuashi, and ndombolo—styles that blend traditional rhythms with electric guitar and Afro-Cuban influences. Since Summer 2024, Orchestre Moto has performed at premier venues and festivals nationwide, including the International African Arts Festival, Wakanda Celebration Festival, BRIC Brooklyn, and LA's own Motherland Music.

Beyond the stage, the band serves as the flagship for the nonprofit Congo Culture Connection. This mission-driven organization facilitates creative exchange between the U.S. and both Congos, aiming to bridge Anglophone and Francophone worlds while ensuring large format bands and dance troupes earn the dignified, livable wages their cultural labor deserves. The ensemble also seeks to rebalance the lens of crisis through which Congo is often seen, building a lasting community across the Atlantic.

“NYC’s own Congolese music powerhouse” — Afropop Worldwide

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The series began in 2014 and is supported by the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission, through funding from the Urban Art Program, with support from Glendale Library, Arts & Culture, Glendale Community Services and Parks, and the Brand Associates.

For additional information about this event, please contact Brand Library & Art Center at (818) 548-2051 or send an email at Info@BrandLibrary.org. Visit BrandLibrary.org/Summer-Music-Series to learn more.

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Free, limited parking is available in Brand Park. An accessible entrance and accessible parking for cars with a disabled parking placard or license plate is located on the East side of Brand Library.

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