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A Latin music legend since the mid-1960s, Joe Bataan was at the center of the New York City action as one of the early stars of Fania Records. His seductive combination of doo-wop vocals and boogaloo is one of the era’s defining sounds, though Bataan has never stayed in one groove for long. Born Bataan Nitollano to a Filipino father and African-American mother and raised in Spanish Harlem, he is the father of the Latin soul sound, crooning hits like “Gypsy Woman” and “Ordinary Guy.” Bataan went on to expand the sound in the ’70s with his Ghetto Records releases, co-coining the apt moniker “salsoul,” though he adapted to changing currents at the end of the decade with forays into disco and hip hop (scoring the early rap hit “Rap-O Clap-O” in 1979). Stepping back from performing in the early ‘80s, he largely disappeared from the scene while working as a counselor for youth in detention facilities. It’s a dramatic story that he recounts with humor and searing detail in his 2024 memoir Streetology: The Legacy of the Afro-Filipino, King of Latin Soul. Since returning to music in 2005, he’s reclaimed his crown and is still going strong in his 80s, a fact made evident by his triumphant Gardens performance in 2023.

The Bay Area duo Tall Tee gets the stage ready for Bataan with a funk-laden opening set. Featuring vocalists Flexone and Joogmac, Tall Tee combines vintage East Bay grease with the explosive energy of the Bay Area’s hyphy movement. Inspired by the sounds of Kashif, Patrice Rushen, The Pharcyde, Cameo, Q-Tip, E-40 and San Francisco’s legendary RBL Posse, the Tall Tee experience is a celebration of vinyl parties in the Mission, the underground DIY artistry of Oakland and out-the-trunk hustle of Bay Area rap.

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