One of the most talked about bands on tour right now is BABYLON CIRCUS. They combine world influences with ska and punk and they are WILD! Babylon Circus performed for free last night in Washington DC at one of THE WORLD MUSIC BLOG's favorite local venues...THE KENNEDY CENTER MILLENNIUM STAGE. Not only are the Millennium Stage shows free, but they are all video taped and archived online for free.

THE STORY: Babylon Circus, a group of French ska/reggae punksters, embraces this pursuit of alternate realities and social justice. Their music is infused with touches of Django Reinhart, Balkan Gypsy music, and great French singers like Edith Piaf or Jacques Brell. Bob Marley is also inescapably present. Their eclectic fusion picks up where French alternative rock band Mano Negra left off, both bands touring extensively in their quest for social justice. Wherever they go, Babylon Circus creates journalistic snapshots of life penned with music rather than words. While on tour in Syria for a month, they wrote many of the tracks on Dances, taking in life around them in the realization that what they experienced was not the same reality portrayed through the Western media. They took up the invitation to play at La Fête de la Musique in Damascus three months after the start of the Iraq War. Their April 15 release Dances of Resistance (Mr. Bongo) coincides with a North American tour. The album carries a message of optimism in a world that offers little hope. In the style of musical warriors like The Clash and sonic rebels like Jimi Hendrix, Babylon Circus uses the power of the microphone to address social and political issues, providing an alternate view of what the official line claims is our reality. Lead singer David Baruchel says the music of Babylon Circus is a “way to fight, to be an actor in today’s society rather than a victim.” Their music can be taken two ways, with a deeper meaning always lurking under the revelry and hilarity. “De la musique et du bruit” tells the story of a district party in France, through the whimsical and humorous eyes of a child. On a deeper level, though, the song addresses immigration policy in France. Baruchel calls this double-edged story-telling “salt and sugar.” -MILLENNIUM STAGE