January 29th, 2015 Last Updated on: January 29th, 2015
Mato Nanji, frontman of the blues rock group Indigenous, was born on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Music was a big influence in his formative years as his father, the late Greg Zephier, Sr., was a talented musician and a member of the band The Vanishing Americans. Watching his father's successful career no doubt led Nanji to form his own band with his brother, sister and cousin during their teenage years. They had international success with the release of their “Things We Do” album in the late 90’s. Nanji's guitar skills also landed him a gig with the Experience Hendrix Tour where he played alongside other guitar heroes such as Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepard and Robert Randolph.
Nanji was a huge influence on The Plateros, a three piece award winning family band from the Navajo Nation in Tohajiilee, New Mexico. The respect was mutual and eventually Nanji would ask them to join his tour as the opening act. Later this would lead to them completely joining forces as Indigenous.
Here's a little sample of what you can expect from Indigenous when you see them live:
And speaking of live, Indigenous is currently on tour. Here's where you can catch them next!
1/27/15-The Rhythm Room-The Plateros to open show, Phoenix, AZ
1/28/15-Vinyl @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
1/30/15-Graton Casino & Resort, Rohnert Park, CA
1/31/15-Cher-Ae Heights Casino, Trinidad, CA
2/02/15-The State Room, Salt Lake City, UT
2/03/15-O.P. Rockwell, Park City, UT
2/05/15-Knickerbockers, Lincoln, NE
2/20/15-KTAOS Solar Center, Taos, NM
2/21/15-Gallup DownTown Conference Center, Gallup, NM
2/28/15-Ohiya Casino & Resort, Niobrara, NE
4/24/15-Mohican North Star Casino-with Jonny Lang, Bowler, WI
5/15/15-Moe's Alley, Santa Cruz, CA
5/16/15-Willow Creek Lounge @ Black Oak Casino, Tuolumne, CA
5/17/15-Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA
6/11/15-Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Sioux City, IA
Follow this link to buy the most recent album “Vanishing Americans”. The album won Best Blues Recording at the Native American Music Awards last year!
http://shrapnelrecords.com/indigenous/vanishing-americans
Follow Indigenous Rocks on Facebook for more tour dates and info.
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Love this… Only problem, I live in Montana. There are no pow wows scheduled for Montana or Arkansas I will be in Cherokee Village, Arkansas March 2015.
Indigenous certainly has the talent to be successful in the mainstream. But Mato has no personality on stage. I’ve seen Indigenous perform during three different stages of their career and he doesn’t establish a repoire with his audience nor look at them!