“Tribute Band”, those honoring, but not imitating a famous artist or band, are quite popular here in Central Mexico. Part of the reason is as large number of retired people who love to see the bands they grew up with, part of it that there is just a very, very large market for live music here and tht niche for tribute bands is large enough to support multiple acts in multiple cities, and part of it is that they are fun, cost a lot less than the originals, and everyone loves them.
Another aspect of tribute bands, especially for young artists, is that they are a training ground and a path to notoriety. Young artists who perfect an entertaining tribute concert and can draw large audiences and go on tour, are not only gaining experience with performing, but they become known to fans and to insiders in the music industry – A&R’s, agents, music journalists, labels. Being able to sell out a 500-seat venue and stay in the public’s eye, even regionally , is a way to success in the very tough world of music.
This is especially true for women who get far less press and opportunity than men. In 2022, only 30% of artists on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart were women, This is despite the fact Madonna and Taylor Swift and Celine Dion are the bestselling solo artists today, according to Chart Masters, and Swift’s Eras tour is most profitable tour in history .
With this I mind I went to see “Shakira Unplugged”, a tribute performance of Shakaira’s 1999 “MTV Unplugged” concert by Guadalajara-based Andra Covo. I was blown away. Covo has the voice, the face, the moves, the body, and most importantly – the talent to go places, and not just as a tribute singer. Yes, she looked and moved and sang like Shakira, but she was able to go far beyond a tribute, and bring her own personal feminine power to the music.
Covo is one of those singers who prove that big things can come in small packages. Slight and lithe, she has a voice that fill that proverbial 500-seat auditorium I mentioned (actually, the CCAR venue she sang in Saturday night was 484 seats, but there was a waiting list). Mulit-musically-talented, she moved from vocals, to the harmonica to the guitar. She even did Shakira’s famous belly dance, although Shakira has better hips for shaking bangles.
And, she knows how to connect with an audience, one of the most important tools in any performing artist’s toolkit. There was no space in the CCAR for dancing but fans were waving cellphone lights, clapping, hooting, and standing and rocking out in place. She had them.
After the show she came out to meet the fans, took photos with children, reporters, families – everyone who asked. And she was indefatigable, even after doing a show that would have had an Olympic runner on her knees trying to catcher her breath.
While the show did not have quite the polish and grandeur of the original, it had Andra Covo, which made it larger than a tribute, large than just a show, and larger than life. Everything about her clicks – I am confident that she will easily make the jump from sold -out tribute performances to sold- out original performances. She just went up on Spotify with her first song, “Thousand Miles”– a ballad, so she is starting. I am sure there will be more, and more diversity in genre’s as she incorporates the energy from her Shakira shows into her own music.
And maybe someday, there will be a Andra Covo tribute band. The pieces are all there.
Patrick O’Heffernan
