Leģendāras grupas 'Village People' koncerts Y.M.C.A.

The legendary American band Village People in Riga!

On December 17, the cult disco band from the USA – The Village People – will perform for the first time in Latvia at the Xiaomi Arena in Riga!  Already this year, the "People of the Village", which has millions of fans in various corners of the world, also performed at a solemn inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

Village People is the greatest disco group in the world.  Their music is part of the international songbook.  The debut album, released in 1977, featured the hit singles
“San Francisco (You Got Me)” and “In Hollywood (Everybody’s A Star).”   

Village People at that time however was simply Victor Willis with use of session singers.  Eventually a group of guys were assembled around him to perform on American Bandstand.  Thus began the creation of Village People.     

The guys were soon an international phenomenon with release of the second album titled Macho Man, once again recorded by Victor Willis with use of session singers. Auditions were held for performers to join Victor however prior to the release of the Macho Man album and many answered the call.  Village People were finally a bona fide group. 

Next was the five-time platinum album Cruisin which featured the blockbuster hit “Y.M.C.A.”  After that was the Go West album, and finally Live and Sleazy. Victor Willis then exited the group but not before leaving them with such smash hits as “Y.M.C.A” “Macho Man” “Go West” “In the Navy” “Magic Night” and “Milk Shake.” With Victor’s departure, the hit era of Village People was over, and so was the disco genre in general. The group soon disbanded.

Over the years, various renditions of Village People (for purposes of live performances) consistently toured the world since the mid-1980s with use of various replacement lead singers, and characters.  

In 2016, as the 40th anniversary of the group’s founding neared, Victor Willis who was Village People before Village People even existed, returned with a fresh re-boot of the group.  
 

His powerful and distinctive voice is known the world-over on all the group’s hits. 
Now, the group (along with their live band) once again stage world class Village People performances.  

The group has sold over 100 million records worldwide.  In 2020, YMCA was inducted to the Library of Congress, National Recording Registry and in 2022 into the Grammy Hally of Fame. In 2021, the group lodged two top 10 hits, “Magic Christmas” and “If You Believe.”  Village People continue to perform to sold-out audiences worldwide.