This band played its first gig 27 years ago at a union strike. Two Grammys later, you can see them in Greeley’s Union Colony Civic Center.

Ozomatli is set to perform at Greeley’s Union Colony Civic Center 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Courtesy photo.

By Kelly Ragan

Grammy award-winning band Ozomatli is set to perform at Greeley’s Union Colony Civic Center 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29.

With an eclectic sound featuring urban, Latino, and beyond, the group aims to take audiences around the world through the music of Los Angeles, according to a news release.  

Their sound combined genres such as hip hop, salsa, R&B, and reggae, earning their early albums, “Street Signs” and “Embrace the Chaos” Grammy awards. “Street Signs” earned a Latin Grammy too, according to the release.

The band got its start in 1995, fusing political activism and music in L.A.

The band’s first show, in fact, was at a union strike, according to Westword, which interviewed the band in 2010.

Since then, the band’s been known to support farm workers’ rights and other grassroots movements.  

In 2006, the U.S. State Department from inviting the band to serve as a cultural ambassador on a series of government-sponsored international tours, playing to audiences around the world, according to the release.

The band was admittedly anti-George Bush, band member Raul Pacheco told Westword in 2010.

“When they asked us to come, it was difficult for us to support the Bush administration, but once we found out that these people in the state Department were really providing shelter, food, social services, we thought it was okay, so we decided to do it,” he told Westword.

Ozomatli recently released their newest album, “Marching On.”

For more

For more information or to buy tickets, go to ucstars.com.