Brave Combo. Rarely, if ever, has a band name been more apropos, not only at the group’s inception, but even more so 30+ years after the fact. At first glance, back in 1979, the Denton, Texas, based outfit was, in shorthand, pegged as a New Wave polka band, a courageous if not almost oxymoronic endeavor during that particular rebirth of the cool. Yet it clicked and launched a stunning run that has now catapulted it into the new century. Over the last three decades, Brave Combo has collected a dizzying array of descriptive musical pegs, boldly going where few bands have gone before, and even fewer could (or would) dare to venture. Succeeding in its first mission, Brave Combo is America’s premier contemporary polka band, and a Grammy winning one at that. In the same breath, to name some but hardly all of the colors found on Brave Combo’s musical palette, one can describe them as a groundbreaking world music act, a hot jazz quintet, a rollicking rock’n’roll bar band, a Tex-Mex conjunto, a sizzling blues band, a saucy cocktail combo, a deadly serious novelty act, a Latin orchestra, and one of America’s dance bands par excellence. It’s all in a night’s music for Brave Combo, often in a synergistic fashion that includes everything from klezmer surf rock to rocking cha cha to what The Washington Post calls “mosh pit polka,” as well as to the hokey pokey and the chicken dance. And zyedeco, acid rock, Muzak, bubblegum, cumbia, classical, and the twist, to still not exhaust the list. This plethoric multitude of musical styles and flavors is frequently mixed, matched, and melded, into delicious, new concoctions by an imaginative team of musical gourmet master chefs.

The Singapore Slingers have been active since April of 2008. Based in Dallas, TX, they are truly one of the most unique musical acts in Texas. Specializing in the popular music of 1900-1935, it’s an infectious mixture of rags, marches, one steps, two steps, waltzes, tangos, and fox trots. The orchestra uses vintage stock arrangements that are true to the era, some dating back as far as the late 1800s and early 1900s. The instrumentation includes a full string section, so the group is truly an orchestra. The Slingers’ full sound is achieved by their grand total of 19 musicians, which harkens back to the biggest and grandest orchestras of yesteryear.
The Slingers’ musical influences include everything from Scott Joplin to John Phillip Sousa to Paul Whiteman.
The Slingers have played for a variety of events, including galas, festivals, private parties and local theatres, and are always ready to take on new venues. The orchestra is true to the sound of generations past, and the Slingers like to think of their music as a sort of historic preservation- and while the music is from a long-gone era, it is anything but a museum piece. The music the Slingers play is alive- it’s energetic, and a lot of fun to listen to! Come check us out some time- check our schedule to see where they’ll be next.