globalFEST

globalFEST 2006 features artists representing a wide diversity of cultures, traditions, and aesthetics: Anyone drawn to beautiful voices and passionate performance will want to hear Mauritania’s soulful Daby Toure, the extraordinary flamenco guitarist Juan Carmona, the sultry and enigmatic Paris/Nolita chanteuse Keren Ann, Cape Verde’s charismatic rising star Lura, or the artful boleros of France’s Las Ondas Marteles. Club enthusiasts may split up to take in Senegalese hip-hop crew Daara J, Brazil’s mangue-beat experimentalist DJ Dolores, or the Persian/Indian electronic synthesis of Los Angeles’ Niyaz. Other party-goers will find themselves dancing to the carnival madness of Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars, or Cajun masters Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, or to the Electronic Gypsy Circus known as Balkan Beat Box. Meanwhile boundary-crossers might try on the North African, jazz, and tap fusion of Roxane Butterfly’s Worldbeats, or the unclassifiable Russian art-rock innovators Auktyon.

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globalFEST 2005 showcases world music in all its diversity. World music — which encompasses traditional and roots sounds from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, as well as hybrid music that draws from many different cultures — is now established throughout the world as a force to be reckoned with. This broadly defined label ranges from classical to pop with influences from jazz and electronica and its audience has grown tenfold in the past decade. globalFEST 2005 brings thirteen musical acts from five continents to three stages and simultaneously satiates the growing hunger for global sounds, and plants seeds for future touring.

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The very first globalFEST featured the following artists: Beat the Donkey, Susheela Raman, Marcel Khalife, Raul Paz, Savina Yannatou, Diego Amador, Mercan Dede Secret Tribe, Vusi Mahlasela, Mariza, Forro in the Dark, Angelique Kidjo, Tania Libertad, Les Yeux Noirs, Emeline Michel, Dervish, and GlobeSonic

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globalFEST 2007:globalFEST 2007: Surf Rock, Palestinian Ouds, Brazilian and Afro-Portuguese Songs, African-American String Band Music

globalFEST is proud to continue the tradition of presenting a line-up that we hope will combine a number of favorites, alongside artists we hope will be new revelations for you. Every year ends up having its own distinct flavor, and we're all especially excited about this year's line-up. globalFEST has moved to a new, much larger venue, Webster Hall, just a few blocks north of the Public. Also, we are back to a single night, and due to venue availability, we are holding it on the Sunday night, January 21, 2007 and starting a little earlier, at 7 pm. Tickets are on sale now at www.TicketWeb.com or by calling 1-866-468-7619. "globalFEST proved it's possible to respect the past without being forced to preserve it forever unchanged," reported the Village Voice in globalFEST's debut year. "In terms of programming, fans can expect the same mix of established names and new revelations as in past years, that all address the unanswerable question of 'what is world music?' in their own way," says Bill Bragin of The Public Theater, who along with Maure Aronson of Boston's World Music, Inc., and Isabel Soffer of World Music Institute, founded the festival. "We launched the event in the wake of 9/11 when international artists were struggling to tour because of the increasingly restrictive American visa process, yet American audiences were expressing more interest in global culture," says Soffer. Bowery Presents joins as a producer in this fourth year as the event expands to a larger venue. Year after year, the globalFEST producers spotlight underexposed hybrids, roots revivalists, and virtuosic performers from all corners and this year will continue that tradition. Compelling patterns emerge from the festival roster each year.

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