Music is an international language, and the 13th annual World Music Festival: Chicago 2011 transforms Grants Park into as a celebration of today’s international music. Featuring traditional and contemporary music from over 40 countries, the city-wide festival features performances and events in a combination of free and low-price ticket venues.
The festival kicks off in Grant Park’s Spirit of Music Garden, then continues for a week of performances and events in Chicago’s neighborhood parks, clubs, cultural centers and downtown venues. Things wrap up with the finale, One World Under One Roof, a series of multiple concerts held in the Chicago Cultural Center. Performers scheduled to be there include:
- Staff Benda Bilili – a group of paraplegic street musicians from the Congo performing on homemade instruments
- Creole Choir of Cuba
- Boubacar Traore Trio – from Mali
- Sounds & Rhythms of Afghanistan
- Esma Redzepova – from Macedonia
- Movits! – from Sweden
- Mad Professor – from the U.K.
The full schedule of performers and events is not yet posted, so you may want to follow the World Music Festival on Twitter and/or like them on Facebook. Their Adroid App will launch on September 6th, complete with an easily accessible schedule, biographies of performers, photos, music clips, and more.
I may be in Chicago during this time so I’ll be taking a look at the schedule as soon as it’s posted. It looks like it’s going to be a great week – anyone else going to be in town?
Location: Grant Park and more than 20 venues around Chicago.
Dates: September 15-22, 2011
Photo credit: Leroy Chew via flickr
this should be a great event