Short Bio

With bands based in both Chicago and Washington, D.C., Costas Colectivo was founded in August 2016 by Michael McSweeney under the name Salsa del Norte while a graduate student at Northern Illinois University, where he had been studying Afro-Cuban music and had just returned from a summer of living and working at a cultural center in Medellín, Colombia. Fortunately, there was almost an entire rhythm section worth of others who were also interested in putting their studies of and/or interest in Afro-Cuban popular music to practical use. While the group’s beginnings were rooted in putting studies to use, their popularity grew enough locally that they began pushing outside the boundaries of campus into the Chicago suburbs for parties and at restaurants, into the city for events at venues ranging from local restaurants to Shedd Aquarium, into recording studios, and across state lines. While Michael remains the only active founding member, various long-term members such as bassist Jorge Brito and vocalist Braden Astorga-Rollins have helped the group as it continues to carry that momentum to this day.