Theater on San Pedro Square
29 North San Pedro Street, San Jose
Tickets: $25 ($20 San Jose Jazz Members) General Admission
Coming from the land of earthquakes, social movements, social networking, peace-lovers and global corporate conglomerates, Rupa & the April Fishes embody the pluralistic and paradoxical sounds of the San Francisco Bay Area. A practicing physician by day and a musician by night, Rupa assembled a band that includes some of the Bay Area’s most talented young musicians to play her original songs that mix elements of Gypsy Swing, Colombian Cumbia, French Chanson and Indian ragas. The name the “April Fishes” was inspired by the French term les poissons d’avril, which is related to the English term “April Fools.” In France on the first of April, people stick little paper fishes on unsuspecting people’s backs.
The band's first performance was at the Red Poppy Art House, an autonomous art space in SF. Since that incendiary show, Rupa & the April Fishes have been lighting up stages large and small including the Montreal Jazz Festival, The Power to the Peaceful Festival with Michael Franti, El Lugar Del Nopal in Tijuana, and the Sziget Festival in Budapest. The band has toured extensively in the US, Canada and Europe, and has collaborated with visual artists, poets, circus artists, social shakers and many other inspiring rabble rousers.
Rupa & the April Fishes’ debut album, 2008’s eXtraOrdinary rendition, reached the top spot on the iTunes charts in its category and was featured on multiple National Public Radio programs. Wrote the Utne Reader, "Clearly the work of a terrorist organization, eXtraOrdinary Rendition promotes dangerous anti-American notions such as multiculturalism, internationalism, and exuberant dancing." Their most recent album is Este Mundo.
Personnel:
Rupa Marya, vocals, guitar
Safa Shokrai, bass
Aaron Kierbel, drums
Mikhael Khalikulov, cello
Mario Silva, trumpet
All repeats 
