No Te Va Gustar

Although South American rock/reggae group No Te Va Gustar started as a humble rock trio, over the years they would balloon into a popular eight0piece ska/reggae sensation. Originally formed in 1994 as a high school guitar/bass/drums trio, NTVG found that adding percussionists and horn players allowed them to explore genres like candombe, reggae, salsa and ska. By 1998 the group could be seen before large audiences at important Montevideo music festivals. Their debut disc, Sólo de Noche, was independently released in 1999. Thanks to regional touring and word-of-mouth popularity, the record sold better than 5,000 units, a large success for the fledgling group. NTVG won fans the old-fashioned way, touring Uruguay and Argentina tirelessly in 2000 and 2001. The band earned major-label backing for their sophomore effort, Este Fuerte Viento Que Sopla, released in 2002. The album earned gold status in less than six months. NTVG found themselves before festival audiences numbering in the tens of thousands, including the Festival Pilsen (2003) and the Fiesta Final (2003). The band’s third original release, entitled Aunque Cueste Ver el Sol, did not emerge until 2005. The record’s popularity brought the band overseas for the first time on a 40-city European tour. Upon returning to South America, NTVG appeared before an adoring audience in Buenos Aires, having sold out El Teatro for two consecutive engagements. A live-in-concert DVD was born of NTVG’s 2006 world tour, opening doors to perform at some of South America’s most important festivals including Pilsen Rock Uruguay, El Pepsi Music (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Pilsen Rock Paraguay. The band’s fourth record, Todos Es Tan Inflamable, was released in 2007, enjoying immediate and lasting chart success. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez