Reviews: Gipsy Kings at Wolf Trap on Aug. 23

Gipsy Kings, featuring original frontman Nicolas Reyes, took stage at Vienna’s Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts last Sunday in a crisp and lighthearted night at the venue. The band, which formed in 1978 in French and whose members are proudly of Catalan and gitano heritage, played all their classics and fan favorites. From “Djobi Djoba” (“cada día yo te quiero más”) to “Volare” and especially “Baila Me,” the group sustained a crowd on its feet. 

By bringing in the Gipsy Kings, who rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s, the Wolf Trap kept consistent in its programming that targets the classic rock, legacy folk, jam band, and legacy R&B crowd. They kept true, too, to their origins, performing nearly the entirety of the show in Spanish (the exception was English, or French). 

The group is also known for its legendary rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in its song “A Mi Manera” and the Eagles in “Hotel California (Spanish Mix).” They’ve also been criticized for messing up the flamenco tradition, an objection they reject—they’re proud of their pop-oriented music that still deeply resonates with the tradition of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming. 

The band Reyes Heritage—consisting of friends and family of Nicolas, namely Paul Santiago, David Mario Reyes, and his son Georges Marcel Reyes—opened the show, setting the tone for Nicolas and his crew with inspired and moving rumba and flamenco tunes. 

Gipsy Kings brought what I needed at the end of a summer break: classic, danceable tunes in a historic and distinctly estival venue.