West Stockbridge — Argentine multi-instrumentalist and composer Facundo Salgado—known to audiences as Rumbo Tumba—brings his genre-bending solo performance to The Foundry on Friday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. Blending traditional South American folk music with electronic textures and urban rhythms, Salgado creates immersive sound worlds through live looping, acoustic instrumentation, and real-time improvisation.
Part of a new generation of solo electroacoustic performers, Rumbo Tumba merges improvisation, looping, and hybrid digital-analog mixing to craft layered, dynamic performances once possible only with an ensemble. Using traditional instruments like the charango, ronroco, and native flutes, Salgado records, loops, and remixes these elements in real time with tools like loop stations, pedals, and software platforms such as Ableton Live and Max/MSP. The result is a sonic tapestry—entirely built on stage—where the performer becomes composer, producer, and sound engineer all at once. Rumbo Tumba joins a wave of artists such as Chile’s Nicolás Jaar, Italy’s Caterina Barbieri, and the U.S.-based vocal-loop innovator Pamela Z—all exploring the intersection of acoustic performance and live digital construction.
To give a sense of this growing trend in solo looped electronic performance, the Entertainment Technology Department at New York City College of Technology (CUNY City Tech) now offers instruction in the tools and techniques of improvised electronic music—a curricular focus that, in some respects, places it ahead of even Juilliard and Berklee in embracing this evolving performance practice.
Salgado’s music draws deeply from Andean folk traditions while engaging with contemporary urban soundscapes, creating a fusion of the ancestral and the modern. His solo sets unfold as rhythmic excursions: hand-played, textured, and constantly evolving.
Rumbo Tumba has toured in over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, appearing at festivals and venues worldwide. Critics have praised his music as “hypnotic,” “intimate,” and “deeply transportive,” noting its rare ability to blend tactile, acoustic performance with exploratory electronic form. In a digital era, Salgado’s work stands apart for its organic immediacy—both grounded in tradition and boldly forward-looking.
Hear Rumbo Tumba at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 17, at The Foundry, 2 Harris Street, West Stockbridge. Seating/bar: 7 p.m.; show: 7:30 p.m. Tickets and more information are available on The Foundry’s website or by calling (413) 232-5222.
Parking is limited at the venue, so please utilize one of the three public parking lots in town, one across from the Post Office, one behind Berkshire Bank, and one just off Main Street. Whatever you do, do not park at Trúc Orient Express Restaurant or the Post Office, unless you want to get a parking ticket.
