While the six-piece funk/Latin jazz combo that is Cesar and the Five started with a college assignment, it became much more than a class project to lead singer Cesar Rangel Muñoz and his bandmates.
Cesar singing at a show
Cesar Rangel-Muñoz and Patrick Boyer, the band’s drummer and booking manager, went from college roommates to bandmates with the creation of Cesar and the Five. Cesar, a music performance and music education major at Millersville University, was looking ahead to his senior recital.
“I had this mindset of ‘I’m getting a degree in music performance and want to perform more - might as well start a band.’” he said.
What’s now Cesar and the Five started as a four-piece, with Cesar on lead vocals, Patrick on drums, Jude Bennett-Johnson on bass and Enzo Dreon on guitar and trumpet.
Later on, they added Edrien Dingzon on auxiliary percussion and Quinn Madden on piano and keyboard. Each new member has brought their own background and influences to, in Patrick’s words, “create a sense of musical culture” that’s integral to the band’s current sound, which blends Latin and jazz. (Some setlist favorites from Cesar and Patrick include “Besame Mucho” and “Lovely Day.”)
Cesar’s exposure to music literally started in the womb, with his mother playing classical music for her yet-unborn son.
He grew up in Venezuela, singing with his family and listening to and being influenced by a wide range of music, including the aforementioned classical and songs featuring the cuatro, the national instrument of Venezuela.
“There's just been music playing all along in my life,” he said.
When he came to the US at age 15, he says learning English and how to read music at the same time was challenging.
But, it did not stop him from being heavily involved in music-related extracurriculars like marching band and his high school’s drama program.
(One of his favorite roles? Jack Kelly from Disney’s Newsies, which he shares with film and stage stars Christian Bale and Jeremy Jordan.)
“Those two things are things that set me on the path of being a music major,” he said.
Patrick also came from a musical family. He started out playing guitar and picked up drums in late elementary school when he had the opportunity to start playing in school band.
“Being 11 at the time, I was like, ‘Alright, I'm gonna pick the instrument that annoys them [family] the most,’” he said. “I'm very grateful that that was the choice I made.”
Cesar and the Five had their first performance for Cesar’s senior recital - on Patrick’s birthday (coincidentally the second time this has happened.) And, it went so well that they started planning for the band’s larger future.
“We said, ‘We've spent all this time learning this music, making it sound really great for Caesar's recital. Let’s go out and see if we can share it with the broader community’,” Patrick said.
And, so they have.
It started with Music For Everyone’s Music Friday series, and led to gigs at such Lancaster institutions as Annie Bailey’s Irish Public House and Our Town Brewery.
They’re also playing Open Streets Lancaster on Saturday, May 9, and taking Cesar and the Five outside of Lancaster County for Harrisburg’s answer to Lancaster’s First Fridays, “Third in the Burg,” on Friday, May 15.
Cesar is set to graduate this May, which will open up more opportunities for the band to perform. (Patrick graduated in December 2025 with a degree in music business.)
“Just getting out there and playing for the community and just bringing people together to hear some music, maybe dance a little bit, have some fun, relax. That’s the goal,” Cesar said.
Visit Cesar and the Five’s website to book the band, and follow them on social media to see where they’re playing next!