By Elizabeth Brannon
Grammy-Winning artist Brave Combo will headline the Flower Mound Arts Festival, which will be hosted at Heritage Park on Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Trying to define Brave Combo is like nailing Jell-O to a tree. It can’t be done, but you can have a great time in the attempt. They describe themselves as a nuclear or psychedelic polka band. No matter how you describe them, their music brings joy, excitement and the inspiration to dance to everyone who hears it.
Brave Combo is the Denton-based, internationally popular quintet that plays salsa, rock, classical, the blues, cumbia, zydeco, cha-cha, polka and so much more. Flower Mound is thrilled to have booked them for the Main Stage at the May 2025 Arts Festival.
Carl Finch started the combo in 1979 and is the only remaining original member, who now plays with four other extraordinary musicians, arrangers, composers and performers, all determined to get audiences to hear music that can be enjoyed without any pre-conceived ideas.
Carl learned about Polka by listening to Lawrence Welk and the $1 polka albums he purchased from Woolworths. He grew up listening to music he knew nothing about, but made a band that turned into something. He named the rock band Brave Combo because it’s brave to play polka music in a non-polka setting, and in 1979 rock bands were called combos.
Carl is an artist by degree with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a master’s in drawing and painting, but he makes his mark on the world through Brave Combo. His side passion is rescuing cats.
A Swedish accordion player heard about the group from Texas playing accordion and polka music, then a Swedish folk music magazine invited Brave Combo on a Scandinavian tour.
As Carl said, there they were, a Texas band, playing 50 miles from the Arctic Circle. Their popularity extended to many other countries, including Japan, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark. They are popular at art and music festivals, colleges, folk festivals and clubs, playing with symphonies, state fairs, polka festivals and telethons. They have appeared at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Getty Center, have been guests on the “A Prairie Home Companion” and even appeared in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“We walked between Woody Woodpecker and Dionne Warwick,” said Carl.
They have two Grammy awards, seven nominations and they, and their music, have appeared on dozens of television shows and in movies.
Brave Combo has contributed original music for ESPN, for the original PBS animated series “As the Wrench Turns,” performed with Tiny Tim and have produced more than 45 recordings.
Their first Christmas album was released in Japan and they were heavily coached in how to speak and sing in Japanese. Their music can be heard on YouTube or from their website bravecombo.com.
You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Brave Combo play the William Tell Overture, Hava Nagila, the Chicken Dance or the Hokey Pokey.
Carl explained that there are elements in polka music that are constructed to create joy and energy. Polka music employs tension and release more than other types of music which makes the music fascinating, despite the “square” reputation polka music has had for generations.
Brave Combo is looking forward to entertaining at the May Arts Festival and taking any and all types of material and turning it into tightly played, infectious dance music.
Elizabeth Brannon serves on the Flower Mound Cultural Arts Commission.
