“World music” is no longer the ethno-purist’s playground it was back when Peter Gabriel founded WOMAD; the rise of a globally connected, tech-savvy youth culture took care of that. Nowadays if you’re into, for example, propulsive jazz-funk of the Afro-Peruvian persuasion, or lo-fi garage pop with a Cambodian bent, or any number of way-out and genre-busting fusions, you’re usually just a few mouse clicks away from a radical new addition to your iTunes library.
But it’s quite another thing to find artists like Novalima or Dengue Fever performing live on the same stage, which is part of what kindled the idea for globalFEST. Now in its ninth year, the multitiered gathering has become a winter ritual for the musically adventurous—a carnival of diversity fueled by 12 featured artists and the support of a loyal, burgeoning fan base. For two years running, in fact, globalFEST has met its setup costs through Kickstarter campaigns, and starting in early 2012, festival promoters are giving handpicked artists a leg up to play in other U.S. markets through the nonprofit globalFEST Touring Fund.
To call it a worthy cause is an understatement. Headliners this year include French jazz-pop phenom Zaz, Haitian soul-funk poet Bélo, Cape Verdean chanteuse Mayra Andrade, Brazilian samba-pop crooner Diogo Nogueira and Yo-Yo Ma’s astounding Silk Road Ensemble, while three acts are making their U.S. debut: Mali’s blues-rap nomads SMOD, Ireland’s the Gloaming and China’s Wang Li. And remember, at globalFEST it’s okay to wander; with so much talent under one roof, only the intrepid traveler can truly see the world.
12/16/11 >> 
