It's been five years since the Gipsy Kings toured Australia and we're more than ready to get our hips moving once again to their unique brand of upbeat flamenco pop. The band's two original singer-songwriter-guitarists, Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo, are still fronting the Gipsy Kings, performing infectious hits such as ‘Volare’, ‘Djobi Djoba’, ‘Bem Bem Maria’ and the worldwide smash hit 'Bamboléo'. (We confess we're also partial to their impassioned Spanish-language version of Ol' Blue Eyes' 'My Way'.)
The band's members hail from actual gipsy settlements in Arles and Montpelier in the south of France, descended from refugees from Franco's Spain. Twenty-five years ago their third album defied the odds to become the rare world music record to break into the mainstream and go platinum worldwide. Their irresistible blend of traditional flamenco with Western pop and Latin rhythms looks set to be a highlight of Bluesfest 2020, and Melbourne's Palais Theatre will also be shaking to the high-energy gipsy rhythms in April.