Dawn Drake

Dawn Drake is an active musician in NYC’s eclectic music scene. She is a percussionist, bass player, singer and composer/songwriter who leads the band ZapOte, a “Tropical Pop” ensemble which breaks down cultural barriers incorporating everything from Funk to Cuban timba and Brazilian samba into a soul- shaking mix with her original lyrics that focus on love, empathy, environmental, economic, racial, gender and social justice themes and above all: unity.
She studied percussion first in Ghana, then went on to pursue Afro-Cuban batá and conga drumming in Cuba and in NYC, as well as samba percussion in Brazil. Currently, in addition to directing her band ZapOte, she also plays bass and congas with artists from around the globe focusing on programs that celebrate diversity, global rhythm, youth and women’s empowerment through music.
Dawn performs globally with her group ZapOte and you can find her original music that she wrote, arranged and performed at https://www.dawndrake.com. Her album Nightshade was part of the first round of Grammy submissions in the category of Best Global Music Album in Fall 2020. She recently released three singles and videos you can see at Youtube @thedawndrake.