On a snowy yet mild February night, Montrealers entered Mile End’s Fairmount Theatre for the first stop of singer-songwriter Alex Cuba’s latest Canadian tour. The Cuban-Canadian Grammy winner offered a stripped-down performance that felt anything but bare, carried by smooth vocals and natural showmanship.
Across older favourites like Solo Mía and songs from his recent album Índole, Cuba’s voice showed remarkable ease, moving through low and high registers with no sign of strain. That fluidity never came at the expense of warmth or emotional depth, though. His 2015 song Sarah, played in tribute to his wife of twenty years, sent a wave of emotion through the crowd.
A similar unstrained confidence shapes Cuba’s entire creative process. Asked how he knows when a project is complete in an exclusive interview with the Montreal Rampage, the artist, born Alex Puentes, explained that “you develop that sense of satisfaction when a song is done,” but added that he has “kind of had that intuition since [he] began.”
The minimalist instrumentation and setup placed the focus squarely on the vocals and the songs. Alone on stage, framed by monochrome lighting, Cuba accompanied himself by playing either acoustic or electric guitar. During Ciudad Hembra (La Habana), he playfully mimicked a trumpet with his voice and even invited audience members to join in. The offer paid off as someone produced a flute, creating a memorable concertgoing experience.
Fairmount Theatre, a compact venue with close sightlines, proved ideal for the paired-down musical performance and the banter with audience members. Introducing his decision to tour a Spanish-language album in the Canadian winter, he joked that “someone has to play for the people who didn’t run away to Mexico,” earning warm laughs.
During intermission, Sofia, a self-described cubanophile, explained that she had been following Alex Cuba since the beginning of his two-decade solo career and was excited discuss favourite albums with twentysomething fan Carlos and his girlfriend.
Both longtime admirers and newcomers cited the commitment to authenticity in Cuba’s music, a quality that also guides the four-time Latin Grammy winner’s broader vocational attitude. As he put it, “The recipe for a long career is you have to be honest with yourself,” before concluding, “You pick music because music picks you.”
