Local Talking Heads tribute band heading to Cuba for 'once in a lifetime' fan experience

Start Making Sense, the Talking Heads tribute outfit based in Bethlehem, will travel to Cuba in the spring for what it's touting as a "once in a lifetime" experience for fans.

The group will perform in Havana, as part of a five-day destination trip that will include a tour of the city and its museums, the band announced in a news release. Start Making Sense will headline the Casa De La Musica EGREM on April 25 and the Palacio De La Rumba on April 27. 

Start Making Sense front-man Jon Braun, in the release, says it is a cultural journey more than just a trip abroad -- a journey that took eight months to arrange. "The full history of Cuban music is filled with some of the most beautiful compositions and rhythms, which, due to its strength, has influenced music around the globe.  Getting closer to that place may give us all a better understanding of Talking Heads' music, the music that inspired it, and music in general."

The trek is being done in association with Rocks Off, Molimar Export Consultants, Inc., Interplanner and Easton-based Porterra Travel. 

Double-occupancy travel packages cost $2,575 (includes airfare, tours of Hemingway Museum and Regla Church and Museum, tours of Havana and Old Havana, cooking class, dancing, farewell reception, and daily amenities); single-occupancy upgrades cost $364. 

Between 1977 and 1988, Talking Heads released eight studio albums, as well as the live album and concert film, Stop Making Sense. Their hits include "Burning Down the House," "Once in a Lifetime," "Psycho Killer," "Life During Wartime," "And She Was," "Road to Nowhere," and "Wild Wild Life."

The band earned praise from critics and fans for their blend of New Wave, pop, and Afro-Cuban dance music. Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. 

Start Making Sense formed in 2009 and have become a favorite, and popular, draw in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the country thanks to their dynamic live shows. The group has headlined such iconic venues as Irving Plaza in New York City, The Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado, The Wilber Theater in Boston, and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.