Hugz Band
Hailing from New York, LA, Buenos Aires and San Salvador, The Hugz Band bring alive Spanish, Bossa Nova, North American folk, Cajun and Caribbean classics with a passion and distinctive ethnic flavor. With three-part harmonies accompanied by guitars, mandolin, charango, drums and bass, The Hugz Band will take you on an unforgettable journey across the Americas.
The Hugz Band first started playing together in 2022 when bassist Steve Cohn sat down with singer/guitarist Michael DeWall and vocalist/mandolinist Karen Chester to jam on a variety of roots music from North, Central and South America. They were joined in 2023 by guitarist/vocalist Oscar Velasco and by drummer Phil Montalvo in 2025. The power and energy of the music took off from there. With band members’ roots in the US, Argentina and El Salvador, the band has an distinctive ethnic flavor reflected in a variety of North American Folk, Bossa Nova, Spanish, Cajun and Caribbean classics with a fresh, contemporary musical sound.