Caymanian traditional music will once again take centre stage in the United States as Swanky Kitchen Band will perform at the Richmond Folk Festival in Virginia this weekend.
Swanky will perform on Saturday, 10 October, and Sunday, 11 October, marking a return to the American folk festival circuit following the band’s landmark 2024 US East Coast tour, coordinated by the Center For Cultural Vibrancy (CCV). The tour introduced Caymanian kitchen dance music to audiences at some of the United States’ leading folk and cultural institutions.
Executive Director for the CCV, Jon Lohman says "The Center for Cultural Vibrancy has been supporting Swanky and other cultural apprenticeships in Cayman. I hope this will be an impactful experience for the band, and that it will bring pride and spurn more efforts to support traditional arts and their flame keepers and cultural ambassadors back in the Cayman Islands."
The invitation from the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) to appear is significant as it reflects the continued interest in Swanky’s music and, more broadly, the international recognition of Cayman’s traditional music as an important and distinctive cultural tradition.
For Caymanians, kitchen dance music needs little introduction. It is part of the shared cultural memory; music associated with community, celebration and gatherings. Its rhythms and melodies are familiar to generations of Caymanians, yet opportunities to hear this music presented on an international stage remain limited.
Swanky Kitchen Band has played an important role in ensuring that tradition continues to be heard. Since its formation in 2003, the band has helped bring Caymanian kitchen dance music to new audiences while keeping its traditional character at the heart of its performances.
The band’s 2024 US East Coast tour was an important milestone in that work, taking Caymanian music to venues and festivals including the Library of Congress, Lincoln Center and the Lowell Folk Festival.
Swanky Kitchen Band founder and fiddler, Samuel Rose shared the band's collective gratitude noting, “We feel so blessed to be able to fulfill our dream of taking Caymanian music to the world. The Richmond Folk Festival will give us an opportunity to play alongside globally recognised talent and other guardians of culture from around the world”.
The Richmond Folk Festival takes place from 9–11 October 2026. View the full festival programme on www.richmondfolkfestival.org/schedule.