Ozomatli, celebrating 30th anniversary, returns to Fountain Valley

Los Angeles-based band Ozomatli is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and those in Orange County have not one, but two chances to see the eclectic, multi-genre act perform.

Ozomatli will be playing a free concert at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley on Thursday at 6 p.m., kicking off the OC Parks Summer Concert Series.

Ulises Bella, who plays saxophone and provides vocals, is one of six founding members that is still at it three decades later.

“It’s a trip,” Bella said in an interview with the Daily Pilot. “When we were younger, when we were kids, none of us thought that this was going to last that long. When you’re younger, you’re thinking maybe the band would last a couple of years, maybe it would last 10 years. Now we’re at 30, and it’s incredible. It’s a testament to the chemistry of the members of the band, and our commitment to the music and to ourselves as a group.”

The band will return to Orange County on Aug. 3 for an OC Fair show at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, along with X and Los Lobos.

The shows are part of Ozomatli’s “30 Revolutions” tour. A hometown anniversary show was scheduled for Saturday night at the California Plaza in downtown L.A., but Bella said it has been postponed due to the curfew and ICE raids in the city.

Ozomatli plays at Mile Square Park on Thursday night to kick off the OC Parks Summer Concert Series.

(Courtesy of Tori Hegner)

Bella said Ozomatli, a band whose origins are steeped in activism, instead plans to perform at “No Kings” demonstrations planned for Saturday.

“That’s going to be Plan B,” he said. “I think [the raids are] pure political theater. The worst kind, too, because the people who are suffering are working class people.”

Three decades in, Ozomatli also still features founding members Asdru Sierra on vocals and trumpet, Raul Pacheco on vocals and guitars, Wil-Dog Abers on bass, Jiro Yamaguchi on percussion and Justin Poree on vocals and percussion.

The group has won three Grammy Awards, including a Latin Grammy, and is unique in the way it blends Latin, hip-hop, reggae, funk music and more.

“All of us grew up with all kinds of different music growing up, and it’s this blend of those different kinds of music that make up the gumbo of what Ozomatli’s sound is,” Bella said. “I will say that the scope of the influences from where we’ve started to where we are now has grown over the years. We used L.A. as our foundation, and traveling around the country, you go to places like Chicago and New Orleans, cities with very important musical traditions, [Washington] D.C., New York.

“Then we go all around the world, and we’re able to soak up some of those obscure references and obscure music styles,” Bella said. “It’s expanded our whole musical horizon.”

Admission and parking are both free for Thursday’s show at Mile Square Park, with attendees welcome to save their spot on the grass for the concert and enjoy food trucks and concessions starting at 5 p.m. The concert, which will take place by the north lake near Freedom Hall, starts at 6 p.m.

The OC Parks Summer Concert Series continues back at Mile Square Park on June 26 with Doin’ Time, a Sublime cover band. More free concerts are scheduled throughout the summer at Mason and Irvine regional parks in Irvine, Craig Regional Park in Fullerton and Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point.