Valletta Is Set To Become Centre Stage For This Weekend’s World Music Festival
At a time of social and political unrest between (and within) nations, this weekend’s World Music Festival wants to bring some warmth back into everyone’s hearts with the gift of music… and it’s all going down in Valletta’s beautiful Fort St. Elmo, against one of the best backdrops in the Mediterranean.
Still in its very first edition, the MWMF will be bringing together various artists from completely different parts of the world.
Of course, Malta will also make an appearance, thanks to one of the alternative scene’s sweethearts, Brodu. The band was set up in 2011 to record ħabullabullojb, an album with songs composed by drummer and main vocalist Mark Abela and his late friend Darren Gatt. The album, released in 2014, very quickly stole the hearts of thousands with brutally honest songs like Iċ-Ċimiterju, and the band went from strength to strength. Brodu’s songs are as diverse as the Maltese artists they’ve collaborated with, and their second album tfejt is only a couple of months away.
Falling within the six-month period of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the festival is being directed by Renzo Spiteri, veteran percussionist and the artistic director of popular local festivals like Għanafest and Teatru Unplugged.
The Malta World Music Festival will be hosting artists from Algeria, Jordan, Gambia, Finland and Italy. These are the international artists who will be serenading you all throughout this Friday and Saturday.
1. TIWIZA
TIWIZA are a fusion of Algeria and France, named after the North African nomad tradition of solidarity. They somehow manage to mix traditional percussion, nomad desert blues and rock’n’roll, and they’ve played about 100 gigs in the last four years alone! These guys are definitely not to be missed.
2. The Khoury Project
Jordan’s The Khoury Project are a brother trio formed 15 years ago. Through a couple of revolutionary methods of playing, the brothers manage to mix contemporary music with Arabic, opera, flamenco, Celtic, Indian and jazz styles. Didn’t think all of that was possible? Think again.
3. Sona Jobarteh
Sona is the first female virtuoso of the kora, a hauntingly beautiful 21-stringed African harp. She’s even invented a new instrument which she named the nkora, and her vocals were also featured in the Hollywood blockbuster film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
4. Tsuumi Sound System
These guys are one of Finland’s most internationally notable modern world music bands. Rooted in Nordic folk, this eight-piece instrumental ensemble’s performance is definitely going to be one for the books.
5. BandAdriatica
Perhaps a little closer to home in style, Italians BandAdriatica’s music comes from the sea, “conceived during the flat silence of dark nights or in the heat of burning daylight” (hi guys, pleased to meet you, welcome to Malta). The ensemble is from Salento, and their music focuses its attention on the differences in musical cultures of the two coasts of the Adriatic Sea.
Tickets for the Malta World Music Festival are still available online, so if this sounds like a great way to spend your weekend, hurry up and reserve yours now!
If you’re still not sure whether you can make it to both nights, here’s the lineup for this weekend:
Friday 19th May 2017
20:00 – 20:45 – Brodu (Malta)
21:00 – 22:00 – Tsuumi Sound System (Finland)
22:15 – 23:15 – Tiwiza (Algeria / France)
Saturday 20th May 2017
20:00 – 20:50 – The Khoury Project (Jordan)
21:00 – 22:00 – Sona Jobarteh (Gambia)
22:15 – 23:15 – BandAdriatica (Italy)
The festival is being organised by Arts Council Malta, in collaboration with the Ministry for Justice Culture and Local Government, the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Valletta 2018, MSV Life, Farsons and Marsovin.
Tag a friend who’d love to attend the MWMF!
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