Orkestra Del Sol

Event information

Orkestra del Sol’s Top Trumps

1 brass band, 9 musicians, 50 cities, 60 shows... and 45,000 playing cards!

Edinburgh Fringe favourites Orkestra del Sol further explore their polygamous love affair with bombastic brass band music, anarchic humour and tall tales in a brand new show. Set to tour Scotland in May, ahead of dates across the UK and France, Top Trumps is inspired by the 1980s card game, and features collectable playing cards for the audience. Band members will pit themselves against each other in a frenzy of high-speed riffs, ridiculous musical challenges, one- upmanship and brass bravado. But who will emerge as Top Trump? What is the Orkestra’s collective lung capacity? Who has the top speed? Which is the longest instrument? Ladies and gentlemen, there’s only one way to find out...

Orkestra del sol’s explosive reinvention of the brass band format has certainly turned heads on both the festival circuit and the street theatre scene, prompting comparisons to the virtuosic wedding bands of Eastern Europe, the suave street bands of the US and the rebellious brass bands of Latin-America. Soaring horn lines, mournful melodies, rolling middle-eastern rhythms, Guca-worthy trumpet solos and a dash of New Orleans sass, all expertly woven into a performance bursting with wildly skilful musical arrangements, a roguish sense of theatre and a good dose of humour. Not to be missed.

“Magnificent” The Independent
“Utterly captivating” Songlines
“Brilliant musicians” Time Out
“You cannot take your eyes off these characters for a second, for fear of missing another hilarious interaction or quirky gesture” Three Weeks