Chango Spasiuk made use of silence almost as much as sound. A messianic-looking figure with long hair, beard and flashing eyes, he stopped between each song as if he was meditating, before he launched into his next passionate instrumental.

The accordion player from the north-east of Argentina is an exponent of the local chamamé style, a traditional music with remarkable emotional range that, in his country, is overlooked in favour of the tango. There are obvious comparisons with Brazil, where another accordion-backed rural style, forro, was overshadowed by samba until Luiz Gonzaga stormed across the country back in the 1940s. Spasiuk clearly approaches his task with the same missionary zeal.

At this performance for the La Linea festival, he sat with his accordion on his lap, flanked by four black-clad musicians playing acoustic guitars, violin, and the bandoneon (tango accordion). Their music constantly changed, often within the same piece, between furious and rapid-fire dance passages and gently exquisite, quiet or brooding sections that contained sudden echoes of western church or classical styles. Just occasionally, as on Tierra Colorasa, the instrumentals were interspersed with equally subtle, gently soulful vocals from guitarist Sebastian Villalba.

As for Spasiuk, he played magnificently but said little until the second half, when he suddenly embarked on a speech in Spanish on the importance of silence, tradition and music. During the encores, he added in a burst of tango by Astor Piazzolla, as if to show how it contrasted with his beloved chamamé, and by now he had the look of a contented evangelist who had won new converts.

· At St George's, Bristol, tomorrow (0845 402 4001). Then touring