Louis ‘El Pana’ Tovar

Venezuelan born Luis ‘El Pana’ Tovar has developed a reputation for his outstanding percussion skills. Since his arrival in Alberta 11 years ago, he has been making his mark in the Western Canadian music scene. He has been mastering his craft on world percussion instruments since he was only 8 years old leading into his current professional career of 20 years. Soon after arriving to Canada, he became one of the founder members of the World Fusion Band, Cumako, with whom he recorded and toured after releasing their album ‘No Borders’. After years of taking in inspiration from all sources, he embraced on his own project ‘Everything I Like / Todo Lo Que Me Gusta’, Luis’ first album. It was released on 2014 after 3 years of composing and producing with national and international musicians. He has been endorsed by Tycoon Percussion and Soultone Cymbals since 2014. Outside of his personal projects, he has been collaborating with multiple artists during his time in Canada; both from the area and international touring acts. Among these artists are: Willy Colon, David Pavon, Tito Nieves, Jerry Rivera, Maelo Ruiz, Oscar de Leon, Pavlo and Rik Emmett, Luis Bonilla, Brian Hughes and Michael Mossman to name a few. In addition, he has been a part of The Oscar Lopez Trio since 2007 and has performed and recorded with this group in multiple occasions throughout the years. He has also supported the local Alberta scene from day one having recorded and performed with artist from all genres. ‘El Pana’ is currently working on a new recording project: ‘The Arepa Project’ where he is combining art of all kinds into an audio-visual experience. He has been releasing parts of this collaboration project in his YouTube channel for the past 6 months. Also, he is the leader and creative mind behind the number one salsa band in the area: ‘Distrito Salsa’. Regardless of the musical genre and whomever he plays, Luis Tovar brings a unique blend of energy and positive dynamic to the stage or recording studio using his Venezuelan / Afro-Caribbean roots to immediately contribute to any project.

STEPHEN AVENUE FESTIVAL FREE PREVIEW CONCERTS
in partnership with the Music Performance Trust Fund and Calgary Downtown
Association Noon-1:00 pm, Calgary Downtown Stage (118 8th Ave SE).
JUNE 5 – Luis Tovar Quartet
JUNE 12 – Alex Gonzalez Quartet
JUNE 19 – Allistair Elliott Quartet