World Music Festival Preview: Friday - Monday
By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 18, 2009 4:00PM
Today marks the start of the eleventh annual Chicago World Music Festival. The week-long event will feature fifty-seven artists performing fifty-five concerts at twenty-one venues stretching from Rogers Park to Beverly. If it sounds overwhelming, well, it is. We've split the week into two parts for easier digestion, beginning with today through Monday. A preview of the Festival's final three days will go up next week.
Courtesy: NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
We've highlighted our favorite acts below. Keep in mind that they may appear on concerts with other bands, too. Make sure to check the full schedule or the daily breakdown on the main page.
Friday, September 18
- Mostar Sevdah Reunion (8:00 p.m., Old Town School of Folk Music, $15, $13 members)
Sevdah (translated varyingly as "love," "desire," or "ecstasy") is folk music from Bosnia and Herzegovina that dates back several centuries. Originally performed by one person singing and playing the saz, a lute-like instrument, Mostar Sevdah Reunion plays its own updated version.
- Markus James and the Wassonrai (9:00 p.m., Uncommon Ground on Devon, $5)
Bluesman Markus James has traveled extensively in Mali to explore American roots music's roots. He'll perform with US-based West African musicians The Wassonrai to headline Uncommon Ground's outdoor Harvest Party.
- Cheb i Sabbah, Red Baraat (10:00 p.m., Martyrs', $12)
Algeria-born, San Francisco-based Cheb i Sabbah brings his Indian electronica to end Friday night's activities. Definitely arrive early enough to see Red Baraat, a drum-heavy Bhangra brass band - a bit like Mucca Pazza, except Punjabi.
Saturday, September 19
- Kusun Ensemble (3:00 p.m., Rogers Park World Music Festival, FREE)
These dancers and musicians update traditional Ghanaian music to create a new style they call nokoko. Kusun will also perform later in the evening at the Edgewater GRalley Festival ($10).
- Red Baraat (6:00 p.m., Navy Pier, FREE)
See above.
- Orchestra of Tetouan (7:30 p.m., Museum of Contemporary Art, $15)
Tired of your friends making fun of you for having never heard Andalusian music? Check out this Moroccan septet, one of the Festival's groups that performs unadulterated folk music.
- Markus James and the Wassonrai (8:00 p.m., Old Town School of Folk Music, $15, $13 members)
See above. Also on the concert is Cape Verdean singer Maria de Barros.
- Parno Graszt, Mostar Sevdah Reunion (10:00 p.m., Martyrs', $12)
More straight-up folk music as Parno Graszt ("white horse" in Romani) play Hungarian Gypsy music. There'll be dancing a-plenty, if you still have energy after another Mostar Sevdah Reunion performance.
Sunday, September 20
- Phyllis Chen (3:00 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center, FREE)
Probably the most "out there" act of the Festival, toy pianist Phyllis Chen's performance of her own works, as well as other notable composers - yes, respected people did write for the toy piano - should be riveting. Plus it's free, so what do you have to lose?
See above.
- Forro in the Dark (8:00 p.m., Martyrs', $12)
Making their first appearance in Chicago since rocking the Folk and Roots Festival and Park West back in 2007, the group plays their take on forró, the dance music from rural northeastern Brazil. They've caught the attention of (and collaborated with) folks such as David Byrne and Seu Jorge, so make sure you're front and center Sunday night.
- Electric Junkyard Gamelan (8:00 p.m., Uncommon Ground on Devon, $10)
Well, check out Forro in the Dark unless you'd rather try Electric Junkyard Gamelan and their funky, severely bastardized (which we mean in the most positive way) take on Balinese gamelan music.
- BLK JKS (9:00 p.m., Bottom Lounge, $12)
Or maybe you'll choose BLK JKS's guitar-heavy, pulsating South African rock.
- Parno Graszt (9:00 p.m., Hideout, $12)
Or this concert. This probably isn't a good preview if we just recommend everything, right? Not our fault. Blame the programmers.
Monday, September 21
- Electric Junkyard Gamelan (noon, Daley Plaza, FREE)
See above.
- Mehter Ottoman Turkish Military Band (6:30 p.m., Millennium Park, FREE)
Ever wonder who had the first military bands? The Ottomans, that's who. This original version with traditional instruments - horns and tons of percussion - is more interesting.