In 2022, isolated and in the hospital, the singer-songwriter was unsure if he’d live to see the end of the year. During that dark period, music — alongside six months of chemotherapy — became his savior, and out of it bloomed a love for Cumbia. The music uplifted and put him back to work, leading to the recording of his 2024 Cumbia-inspired album, “Wake The Dead.”
Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes will be performing a free show Thursday, July 17 at the Levitt Pavilion.
Recorded with the band ¿Qiensave?, “Wake The Dead” explores the world of Cumbia roots music, featuring a blend of rock and roll, punk, surf, and soul. Cumbia is a rhythm-heavy, folkloric style that originated in Colombia and spread across Latin America, marked by dance grooves and syncopated percussion. The songs may borrow from those roots, but Prophet’s signature values — the bridges, the pre-choruses — still seep through the woodwork.
While a track like “Betty’s Song” from the new album has obvious cultural influences compared to something like “Bobby Fuller Died for Your Sins” — a very Warren Zevon/Elvis Costello/Modern Lovers takeoff from 2017 — the Prophet throughline never veers into appropriation. The melodies are still noteworthy, and they are instantly singable — the kind that feel familiar on the first listen.
“Wake The Dead” has the same songwriter as the 16 solo albums that came before it, and, despite the new direction, is a very Chuck Prophet album. At this point, he says that would be a hard habit to break.
Prophet’s also been known to write in character or about characters, tackling many weirdos and fringe folk with a noir sense of humor. There is a bit of that amongst the newfound Cumbia rhythms, but there is definitely a sense that the sardonic has taken a backseat, considering the severity of his recent diagnosis.
“I really did think that mortality was for other people,” Prophet told me, calling from his home in San Francisco. “Having gone through this, I could see mortality in the distance. Now he’s coming towards me. I never really thought about the dude that much. Part of me was happy that I was let out of my cage, but it also kind of reflected what time it is for me.”
“Wake The Dead” is so full of life, rhythm, and motion despite his own life coming to a standstill during treatment and his subsequent recovery. The record doesn’t shy away from darkness, but it always feels hopeful. It continues Prophet’s streak of critically acclaimed solo albums, which have earned praise from Rolling Stone to NPR.
“Every single one of my records are really just kind of a photograph of a time,” Prophet said, “where I was lucky enough to find myself getting into some new kind of music. I look to The Clash for inspiration. They were never afraid to dip their bucket down into the well. And they were never afraid to drink whatever they pulled up.”
Dunking his bucket down the well — or, in his case, the YouTube rabbit hole — Prophet pulled up Cumbia.
When Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes premiered at a festival in Big Sur, people were immediately on their feet. Prophet’s old friend Alejandro Escovedo describes the early days of punk rock having erased the line between stage and audience, which is exactly what this music does, too. Prophet says it’s the first time he’s been in a “dance band.”
Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes is a blended family: a few guys from Prophet’s usual band, a few guys from ¿Qiensave?, and a bass player from Mexico City. As a one-record act, Prophet’s looking to breathe life into at least one more Cumbia album. He currently has songs written, all in various states of completion.
“I can’t really predict which direction the wind is going to blow,” Prophet said. “Every time I finish a song, I’m so elated. That’s generally followed by some depression because I can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever write another one.”
Chuck Prophet is now in full remission.
Brandon Berry writes about the Dayton and Southwest Ohio music and art scene. Have a story idea for him? Email branberry100@gmail.com.
How to go
What: Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes
When: 7 p.m., July 17
Where: Levitt Pavilion, 134 S. Main St., Dayton
Cost: Free
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