Panchromatic Steel

Sponsored by BlueStem Jazz, Cafe Coda’s Carnival Tuesday celebration is back in 2023 with Panchromatic Steel! Stay tuned for exciting announcements about this event and get tickets early as last year it was a capacity crowd! $10 at the door or in advance.

ABOUT PANCHROMATIC STEEL:

Founded in 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin, Panchromatic Steel has blazed an entirely new trail in the city’s music scene, fusing island styles with pop hits, rock and jazz into a high-energy blend that is hard to categorize but easy to love. With top-shelf multi-instrumentalism and wide-ranging appeal, Panchromatic’s music brightens any day, transports listeners to their happiest moments in the sun, and threads the needle by being artful yet accessible to virtually everyone.

At the heart of Panchromatic’s sound is the steeldrum, or “steelpan” as it’s known in its native Trinidad & Tobago. The instrument is a sawed-off 55-gallon oil drum with the top stretched into a bowl and hand-hammered to create tone-producing dents that ring when struck by rubber-tipped mallets. Its tropical associations are hokey to some and delightful to others; but either way, the cliches tell only part of the story and mostly just obscure the instrument’s fierce but woefully under-appreciated musical tradition – one which boasts levels of complexity, creativity and energy rivaled by few other musical artforms.

Panchromatic Steel embraces the steelpan tradition but also features vocals and a variety of other instruments, including horns, flute, digital marimba, keyboards and multiple percussionists. With its multicolored musical palette, the band re-imagines danceable favorites by the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, Led Zeppelin, and Stevie Wonder and rocks them as well as any guitar-based cover band while leaving a far more uniquely memorable impression.