Banda MS Wows Crowd at the Santa Barbara Bowl

The 16-member band, uniformed in black-sequined jackets, partially unbuttoned white shirts, and big “MS” belt buckles, was just as excited about Sunday night’s crowd as the crowd was to see them perform. Banda MS — the MS stands for Mazatlan, Sinaloa, the birthplace of the band and several of its members — performed myriad musical genres, including cumbias, corridos, baladas, and rancheras. Each song had its own simple but enthusiastically performed choreographed dance. Members threw kicks, marched around the stage, and performed slow, suggestive turns with their instruments.

Banda kicked off the show with songs of love and heartbreak. Frontman Alan Ramirez introduced their classics by talking about the hardship of desamores — falling out of love. The band performed for a full house of fans who knew every word to every song. Ramirez and Osvaldo Silva, the two lead singers of the group, frequently paused their singing and let the crowd do some performing of their own. As the band moved into their livelier songs, couples stepped out into the aisle to dance. Of course, Banda MS had to play its instant classic, “El Mechon.” At the start of the song, everyone sprang to their feet as red, white, and green confetti exploded from the stage and onto the crowd.