Los Tremolo Kings are a New Orleans band playing cumbia, chicha, and other Latin styles, seasoned with jazz, surf, and mambo. In the summer of 2019, Casa Borrega owner Hugo Montero asked Belgian guitarist and animator Phil 'the Tremolo King' Vanderyken to form a cumbia/chicha band; the debut gig came that September, and a four-year Friday-night residency followed.
The rhythm section is pure New Orleans pedigree: bassist Rene Coman and drummer Doug Garrison, the rhythm section of the legendary Iguanas, lay down hypnotic grooves under Vanderyken's tremolo-and-echo guitar. Cuban-American singer and songwriter Margie Perez brings soulful vocals and magnetic stage presence.
Their self-titled debut EP, recorded live at Casa Borrega by Alex Levy, arrived June 10, 2024 on Kaleidoscope World Records; OffBeat's Jay Mazza praised the trio's 'musical mastery,' saying Vanderyken had 'essentially created a new sub-genre by focusing on Latin grooves.' Since Casa Borrega closed in 2024, the band has branched out to Madame Vic's, BJ's Lounge, d.b.a., French Quarter Fest, and the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
In 2025 they released 'Femme Fatale' — a Latin-lounge take on the Velvet Underground classic with Margie Perez channeling Dionne Warwick and Slackers saxman David Hillyard sitting in — as the first single from their upcoming full-length album.
