GlobalFEST 2012 Lineup Announced

On 8 January 2012, New York City's Webster Hall will be host to the ninth annual GlobalFEST, bringing you twelve artists from around the world, on three stages, for one night only! The lineup was recently announced, and it's looking good...

From Malian roots rap to sensually fresh samba, eerily avant jaw harps to twenty first-century tarantella. Heritage never sounded so cool. Whether continuing famous musical lineages or pushing forward on new paths, the artists due to perform at globalFEST 2012 show how world music has matured from a quaint, catch-all niche to a meaningful, deeply rooted challenge to the musical status quo. We've lined up a little flavour of each artist below.

BélO: Haiti’s acoustic innovator and social activist channels his home’s deep and diverse Afro-Caribbean roots with catchy, reggae-inflected songs.

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino: Southern Italy’s hottest band revitalizes the ancient ritual pizzica tarantata, said to cure the deadly spider’s bite with frenzied trance dances.

Debo Band: Boston-based crew reinvents the Golden Age of Ethiopian and East African funk and jazz.

Diogo Nogueira: Brazil’s red-hot samba (and television) star adds a contemporary twist to the beloved rhythms of Rio.

M.A.K.U. Sound System: Queens, NY-based Afro-Colombian underground band’s roaring guitars, bold brass, and hard-hitting Latin beats and vocals bring down the house. 

Mayra Andrade: Golden-voiced Cape Verde-born singer brings a Parisian and Brazilian flair to her island roots with a new acoustic trio.

Silk Road Project Ensemble: An international collective of virtuoso musicians from Japan to the Mediterranean and in between continue founder Yo-Yo Ma’s musical legacy on their own, exploring the world’s oldest trade routes in unexpected ways.

SMOD (U.S. Debut): Malian folk rappers, featuring the son of Amadou and Mariam, work serious lyrical flow to create Afro-Rap, wrapped in Manu Chao’s signature globe-trotting production.

Wang Li (U.S. Debut): France-based Chinese jaw harp master-improviser creates wildly unexpected and deeply meditative melodies, discovering the infinite nuances that breath, tongue, and throat can make.

Yemen Blues: Yemeni-Israeli electrifying singer and his global band make Mediterranean sounds rock and soar.

Wonderland: Featuring Turkish virtuosi of the Taksim Trio (Hüsnü ?enlendirici: clarinet, ?smail Tunçbilek: ba?lama, and Aytaç Do?an: kanun) and East Village nu-jazz-world-dub club Nublu’s mover-and-shaker, multi-instrumentalist Ilhan Ersahin, Wonderland’s global music artfully unites Turkish, Kurdish, Gypsy and Armenian grooves into soulful delights.