City of the Sun
City of the Sun is an instrumental band from New York City, formed on the Upper East Side in 2011 and now a duo of guitarist John Pita and percussionist Zach Para. Its cinematic sound draws on post-rock, flamenco, gypsy jazz and indie rock, and reviewers commonly reach for Rodrigo y Gabriela and Explosions in the Sky as reference points. The group started as Pita with vocalist Troubadour Adam Road, who left in 2014; guitarist Avi Snow joined in 2012 and Para came in on drums in 2013, after which the band settled into a wholly instrumental format. Its signature sound was worked out while busking on New York streets, and it was a street performance that led to an invitation to play the 2013 TED conference, followed by appearances at regional TEDx events. A live EP, Live at the Factory, appeared in 2014 and Jefferson St. Sessions in 2015, the same year the band signed to Chesky Records. Its full-length debut, to the sun and all the cities in between, was released in March 2016 and entered Billboard's jazz albums chart at No. 12. The Lost Sessions EP followed later that year, and after a European tour in 2017 the band issued the Untitled EP, whose track Firefly premiered through Billboard. Two further EPs, Chapter I and Chapter II, bracketed the self-titled second album released in 2020, and Segunda Alma arrived in 2022. A third album, Under the Moon, was released in 2026. Live, the pair play seated and largely acoustic, building long-form pieces out of interlocking guitar figures and hand percussion without vocals, and they have kept up a heavy touring schedule in the United States and Europe alongside a substantial online following.
Upcoming shows
- City of the Sun — Friday, October 16, 2026 at The Get Down Music Venue