Grupo Niche brings "Cali Pachanguero" to Ferg's on Dec 12

Colombia's salsa institution plays the Ferg's complex across from Tropicana Field on a Saturday night in December, at 7 p.m.

There is one song that almost every salsa crowd in Florida waits for, and when Grupo Niche plays it, the room stops being an audience. "Cali Pachanguero" is the reason, and on Saturday, Dec. 12, St. Petersburg gets to hear it from the band that made it: Grupo Niche plays Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill.

The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets run $61.99 to $410.50 through TicketWeb via the show's ticket link. The date was announced Oct. 30, which leaves about six weeks; for a 3,000-capacity room and a band with this kind of following, the cheaper tiers won't wait around.

Grupo Niche came out of Cali, Colombia, built by songwriter and producer Jairo Varela with trombonist Alexis Lozano. The early records found only modest success, according to Radio Nacional de Colombia. Then came 1984's *No Hay Quinto Malo* and "Cali Pachanguero", which made the band famous at home and abroad. The song was named the official song of the Feria de Cali that year, and it was given the honor again in 2012 as a tribute to Varela after his death, per Billboard. Even the song's origin has become legend: one pianist remembers Varela starting it in a Miami dressing room, while El País repeats the story that it began during a New York winter.

A song that became a city's anthem, and a band that outlived its founder.

Varela died on Aug. 8, 2012, at 62. The band didn't stop. His daughter, Yanila Varela, has owned Grupo Niche since, and in 2024 the 40th anniversary of "Cali Pachanguero" was marked with a film and celebration. This year the group is on the Niche Disco Tour, which has taken it to stages including the Hollywood Bowl and Hard Rock Live in South Florida, with a Lynn, Mass., date this weekend before the St. Pete stop.

The venue is a local landmark in its own right. Ferg's sits at 1320 Central Ave., directly across from Tropicana Field, and its concert space, booked under the Ferg's Pavilion name, dates to 2015, when Pollstar reported that Ferg's was opening an outdoor concert venue. Fox 13 has reported the backyard holds up to 3,000 for shows. It's an open-air room on a December night, which is about the best case for dancing in Florida.

A few practical notes: check the ticket page for the night's entry details and whether your tier is seated or standing, and dress for an evening outdoors. A 7 p.m. start on a Saturday gives the night plenty of room.

Forty-plus years of hits, one song that defines a city, and a December night outside on Central Avenue. Bring dancing shoes, and someone who knows the words to "Cali Pachanguero."

Sources: Radio Nacional de Colombia: Las inolvidables del Grupo Niche (radionacional.co); Billboard: Grupo Niche's 'Cali Pachanguero', Jairo Varela's salsa anthem (billboard.com); El País: 40 años de Cali Pachanguero del Grupo Niche (elpais.com.co); World Music Central: Colombian salsa icon Jairo Varela dies at 62 (worldmusiccentral.org); Wikipedia: Grupo Niche (en.wikipedia.org); Hollywood Bowl: Grupo Niche (hollywoodbowl.com); LaMezcla: Grupo Niche brings Niche Disco Tour 2026 to Hard Rock Live in South Florida (lamezcla.com); The Boston Calendar: Grupo Niche, Lynn MA, Niche Disco Tour (thebostoncalendar.com); Pollstar: An old face at new Florida venue (news.pollstar.com); Fox 13: St. Pete's Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill ranked top local sports bar in U.S. (fox13news.com); Visit St. Pete/Clearwater: Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill (visitstpeteclearwater.com); JamBase: Grupo Niche at Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill (jambase.com)