For those who haven’t heard of the genre before, Chirimia is clarinet and horn driven music from the Pacific coast of Columbia, and Rancho Aparte are shining examples of the genre’s vibes. It has a good Afro-Colombian groove that almost feels like it has a dash of klezmer in.

Rancho Aparte’s singer, composer and bandleader Dino Manuelle’s energy is infectious, and he and his phenomenal group of musicians whipped up the noontime Fuji Rock crowd into a rollicking party and hopefully helped set the tone for the weekend to come with their early Friday set.

In addition to Dino, twin percussionists laid down a beat that would set anyone’s foot a-tapping, twin clarinetists harmonized with each other in a way you don’t often hear clarinets do in Latin music, and the horn grounded it all with a hearty bit of bass. The band played together like one singular organism, but each individual member had a distinct personality and their own moments to shine.

The Mokudotei stage, nestled into the woods off the boardwalk, gave the set an intimate feel hard to match anywhere else at Fuji Rock, and Rancho Aparte packed it to the point where the boardwalk got backed up quite a bit. But what trouble is a little congestion when it is for the sake of some stunning Chirimia music?

After a few songs the music was too much for the camp-chair crowd, so everyone took to their feet and packed in around the stage for a forest dance party. The band managed to keep every minute fresh with interesting changes in tempo, volume and rhythm, while call and response and even an unexpected rap breakdowns kept the crowd engaged and thoroughly grooving.

If you missed their set today at Mokudotei, be sure to catch them on Saturday afternoon at Field of Heaven. Your dancing shoes will thank you.