Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes

When a stage four lymphoma diagnosis forced him off the road and into the hospital, Chuck Prophet did not know if he would live long enough to see the end of the year, let alone get back on tour.

I was going through a tunnel, he recalls. It was dark. But I had music: music to play, music to listen to, music to get me out of my head. Music was my savior.

That much is plain to hear on Wake The Dead, Prophets extraordinary new album. Recorded with band of brothers ?Qiensave?, the collection explores the world of Cumbia music, which consumed and comforted Prophet during his illness and subsequent recovery. The songs are intoxicatingly rhythmic, all but demanding you move your body, with arrangements that blur the lines between tradition and innovation. There are flashes of rock and roll, punk, surf, and soul, all filtered through the streets of San Francisco and wrapped up in the rich legacy of a genre that traces its roots back to the jungles of South America.

Captured live in the studio, Wake The Dead resumes Prophets streak of more than a dozen critically acclaimed solo albums stretching all the way back to 1990, when the California native first shifted focus from pioneering neo psych band Green on Red to working under his own name. Since then, Prophet, who is now in full remission, has earned raves everywhere from Rolling Stone to NPR, landed songs in a slew of films and television shows, and seen his work covered by Bruce Springsteen, Solomon Burke, and Heart, among others.

Tour Dates

06-12-2025San Diego, CACasbah
06-13-2025Venice, CAThe Venice West
06-14-2025San Luis Obispo, CALive Oak Music Festival
07-09-2025Minneapolis, MNThe Parkway Theater
07-10-2025Madison, WIAtwood Music Hall
07-11-2025Milwaukee, WIShank Hall
07-12-2025Chicago, ILCity Winery
07-13-2025Bloomington, ILThe Castle Theatre
07-15-2025Cleveland, OHThe Grog Shop
07-16-2025Indianapolis, INThe Hi Fi
07-17-2025Dayton, OHLevitt Pavilion Dayton
07-19-2025Rochester, NYFlour City Station
07-20-2025Buffalo, NYSportsmens Tavern
07-23-2025Bristol, VARadio Bristol Farm & Fun Time
07-24-2025Whitesburg, KYLevitt AMP
07-25-2025Floyd, VAFloyd Fest
07-26-2025Carrboro, NCCats Cradle-Back Room
07-27-2025Charlotte, NCThe Neighborhood Theatre
08-06-2025Mountain Village, COSunset Concert Series
08-07-2025Denver, COGlobe Hall
08-08-2025Boulder, COeTown Radio
08-10-2025Taos, NMTaos Mesa Brewing
08-11-2025Santa Fe, NMSanta Fe Plaza
09-12-2025Nashville, TNAmericanaFest
09-13-2025Chattanooga, TNBarrelhouse Ballroom
09-14-2025Atlanta, GAThe Garden Club
09-16-2025Norfolk, VAThe Annex
09-17-2025Haddon Heights, NJSundown Music Series
09-18-2025Pawling, NYDaryls House Club
09-19-2025Homer, NYHomer Center for the Arts
09-20-2025Easton, MDHistoric Avalon Theatre