Go early and feast — with crepes, fromage and vino — at a GypsyFest party on Saturday at the Pavilion Café at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Then toast the Hot Club of Hulaville, Honolulu's newest darlings of gypsy music, which will be in concert downstairs at the Doris Duke Theatre.

Gypsy what?

Essentially, it's a French twist to American swing, said group leader Sonny Silva, a guitarist, who did a gig at Hawai'i Public Radio and discovered "an unexpected thing. ... People really liked our music, which started as a lark."

But he added: "I was on my way doing Portuguese samba music."

The detour to gypsy music, which encompasses jazz, swing and classical genres, has roots in the French inspiration and artistry of Django Reinhardt's music and his Quintette du Hot Club de France, the ooh-la-la rage in the City of Light (Paris) in the 1930s.

We posed Five Questions to Silva, to shed further light on gypsydom:

Q. What constitutes "gypsy music," and how does it fit into the Island scene?

A. What we play, and what Hot Club bands play, reflects the Great American Songbook; it's (George) Gershwin stylized, with gypsy instrumentation, with guitar, accordion, violin ... and an easy classical tradition. The Hot Club bands — there are others elsewhere — are well-schooled, not street musicians, and its all quite seminal: Hot Club bands became responsible for American be-bop, rock, a lot of different music. Personally, gypsy music includes American jazz, cafe tango, with great instrumentation.

Q. Have you visited the City of Light, where gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt made his mark, and does the gypsy vibe still prevail?

A. Yes, I have. The gypsy vibe is all over the place. Cannes. Italy was actually where I first saw and heard it. There are festivals in Spain and Vienna, too.

Q. What's with the name?

A. Our original band was the Hot Club of Kaka'ako, so Hot Club of Hulaville is much better. We're influenced by the original Quintet du Hot Club of France. We play jazz and hapa-haole Hawaiian music like "Sophisticated Hula," "Keep Your Eyes on the Hands," with some gypsy pump. Hot Clubs are all over the country, in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit.

Q. How did you assemble your Hulaville gang, and get them on the same page?

A. Pierre Grill (accordion and piano) was right on it; he's from the Marseilles area of France; he can play anything. Duane Padilla (violinist) was playing with me a lot. We found our bass player (David Chiorini), who could put the sound together, through John Kolivas (of the Honolulu Jazz Quartet). And Willow Chang (vocalist) was a perfect fit — she's like Edith Piaf, the little sparrow.

Q. Besides a thirst to listen and party, what should the audience bring to the fest?

A. We're very stylized; we dress in the period, in '30s gear, so I'm dressed elegantly and dapper, kinda like ... a French pimp (laughs). Folks should think gypsy — and come in high style, like Busby Berkeley, you know, "We're in the Money" and "Brother, Can you Spare a Dime?" Yeah, wear costumes; a French boatman, high fashion stuff. We're very high art, and we'll try to create a mood with backdrops to add to the ambience. Ultimately, though, it's all about the music — and the mood. Oh, yeah, we'll have gypsies, too.