For the second annual GlobalFEST concert, 13 world music stars hailing from five continents will perform on all three of the Public's stages.

For a $40 ticket, it's got to be the best musical bargain in town, especially since you'll be able to see Guinean griot Mory Kante make his first New York appearance in 14 years. There's also Japan's Yoshida Brothers, Argentina's Juana Molina, Mali's Rokia Traore and France's Paris Combo. And given New York's protean internationalism, three local acts - the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and DJ Rekha - have been included on the bill.

The stellar lineup is largely due to the influence of co-sponsor the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, whose members are responsible for booking musicians at schools and cultural centers across the country. The Lollapalooza-style presentation on multiple stages allows the crowd to spend time sampling each artist.

"People who just want to see their artist for an entire evening are not coming to GlobalFEST," says Isabel Soffer of the World Music Institute, another sponsor. "It's for people who are very open-minded, and that's what we've geared it to."

Aside from the high quality of the artists, what's striking about GlobalFEST is that it does away with typical notions of what constitutes world music. In addition to traditional acoustic artists such as Kante and Spain's Noche Flamenco, there's Molina's combination of electronica and folk, the American roots music of Olabelle and the cafe swing and gypsy music of Paris Combo.

One of the highlights is sure to be Kante's performance, backed by his 11-piece band. Renowned as one of the pioneering forces behind the electrified Afrobeat sound, Kante, on his latest album, "Sabou," returns to his acoustic roots as a griot, a traditional West African troubador.

"This is the traditional sound that I was taught from a young age," Kante says. "It is a lot of work though, because it is honest music.

"In fact, it is a tremendous amount of work, because with acoustic music you can't use gimmicks, and you can't hide behind electronic sounds," he adds. "The traditional instruments communicate a certain honesty and strength that you don't find in other music."

Though his band may have unplugged, they still find a powerful groove, which allows Kante to demonstrate his mastery of the kora, a 21-stringed lute. Kante received his instrument, which is now more than 80 years old, when he was just 13.

"My kora is old, but I take very good care of it," he says. "It is like a woman to me, my wife. She is always by my side, and she is always in agreement with me."

As such, his kora receives the same kind of red-carpet treatment that orchestra stars give their 300-year-old Stradivarius violins.

"For me, the instrument is a person," Kante says. "When I travel, she flies in the pilot's cabin. My kora, she gives me everything that I want. She is beautiful, and she is well taken care of."

While Kante's kora will likely be the night's oldest instrument, Molina will be bringing some of the newest technology. With her sampling keyboard and acoustic guitar, the Argentinian singer plays what some call "folktronica."

Her latest album, "Tres Cosas," features burbling loops of sound over which Molina whispers and sings. The sound is simultaneously sweet and seductive, but it defies easy categorization.

"If I had to put it on the shelf in a music store, I wouldn't know where to put it," Molina says. "When I play, different sounds give me images, shapes and figures. I just keep following the soundscape."

Unaware of GlobalFEST's adventurous lineup, Molina was worried that she might be too far out for a world music show.

"I'm glad to be there," she says. "But someone could be surprised and wonder, 'What is she doing there?'"

Molina, of course, has nothing to fret about. GlobalFEST has brought world music into the 21st century.