The World Music Festival, one of Chicago's most colorful citywide events, returns with a jam-packed schedule Sept. 14-21 for its eighth season. The festival presents dozens of international performers, as well as world music acts based in Chicago and throughout the United States.

Sponsored by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the festival unfolds in Grant Park and almost 30 area venues. Headliners will include the Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar, a prolific orchestra presenting taarab music; Otto, a Brazilian percussionist and singer-songwriter whose work is a mix of maracatu, drum and bass, forro and rap, and Yat-Kha, an ensemble whose signature sound mixes traditional Tuvan music and rock, featuring the throat-style singing of bandleader Albert Kuvezin.

From Africa come two legendary acts: Oliver Mtukudzi & Black Spirits, which fuses traditional Zimbabwean music and classic American R&B, and Mamadou Diabete, a Malian kora player who preserves the past through music, song and oratory.

Among the up-and-coming artists featured at this year's festival is Sara Tavares, who grew up influenced by the cultures of Portugal and Africa, and Toubab Krewe, a year-old troupe that produces a wild blend described as Malian-influenced Afro-cowboy-ninja-surf music.

As in the past, the World Music Festival remains a bargain, because many of the events are free, including a daily series of live radio broadcasts featuring interviews and performances at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Evening performances, with ticket prices ranging from $10 to $15, are scattered around town at clubs, parks and performance venues.

For more information, call (312) 744-6630 or visit www.CityofChicago.org/WorldMusic.