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DLR Festival of World Cultures
French singer Jane Birkin, Malian superstar Oumou Sangare and the mystical Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan are among the international world musicians headlining this year’s DLR Festival of World Cultures.
Along with dozens of other artists from around the world, these global performers will transform Dún Laoghaire, in Dublin, into an outdoor arena over the last weekend in August, bringing a cosmos of creativity to Ireland’s doorstep.
Now in its ninth year, the Festival attracts over 250,000 people making it Ireland’s largest intercultural celebration. With a diverse world music line-up, food fairs, art exhibitions, workshops and cultural demonstrations as well as a Festival newspaper and nightly Festival Club where Irish artists jam with world musicians, this family-friendly celebration is a round-trip, non-stop ticket to a world of culture.
Highlights of the 2009 world music programme include:
OUMOU SANGARE | Newtownsmith Main Stage | August 30| 6.30pm| FREE
Hailed as “the most celebrated performer in West Africa”, Malian soul diva and UNESCO prizewinner Oumou Sangare is a songwriter, social commentator, champion of women’s rights, and spokesperson for her generation. Drawing deep from a wealth of musical traditions in southern Mali and particularly the hypnotically rhythmic homegrown music wassoulou, Oumou has been compared to Aretha Franklin and Patsy Cline. Her recent album ‘Seya’ is, according to The Irish Times 5-star review “worth the wait…intense and spellbinding…a key release of 2009,” while The Observer called it “a masterpiece”.
JANE BIRKIN | Pavilion Theatre | August 29 | 8pm | €32
This French chanteuse first came to global recognition for her passionate collaboration with former lover Serge Gainsbourg - ‘Je t’aime… moi non plus’. Nearly two dozen albums and over seventy films later, Jane is still as versatile and prolific as ever and will enchant Festival audiences with songs from her new album ‘Enfants d’hiver’ which features her lyrics exclusively. From campaigning avidly for social justice in Burma and immigration rights, working with Amnesty International and as a HIV/AIDS activist, to having Hermes name a bestselling bag for her, Jane has been a vivid testimony to our times throughout four decades.
SAIN ZAHOOR | Pavilion Theatre | August 30 |9pm | €28
The dlr Festival of World Cultures is honoured to welcome, spiritual mystic and Sufi devotional singer, Sain Zahoor with special guest Bachir Attar –The Master Musicians of Jajouka. Born in a rural village in Pakistan, he is known to many as ‘King of the Street Singers. Devoted fans of this internationally recognised singer claim that a performance by this BBC World Music Award winner is the closest anyone alive will get to being in the presence of the Sufi mystics of yore. Singing with the one string ektara (lute), he will be accompanied by harmonium, tabla, chimta and dholak.
DUB COLOSSUS | Newtownsmith Main Stage | August 29 | 6.30pm| FREE
The vision of Count Dubulah aka Nick Page of Transglobal Underground and Temple of Sound is an extraordinary collaboration that brings together some of Ethiopia’s finest musicians - singer Sintayehu ‘Mimi’ Zenebez and Tsedenia Gebremarko, master saxophonist Feleke Hailo, pianist Samuel Yirga and messengo player Termage Weretaw. Ranging from Azmari and traditional Ethiopian styles to ethiojazz and club reggae, as well as the popular singing styles of the 60s and 70s.
LES TAMBOURS DE BRAZZA | Newtownsmith Maine Stage | August 29 | 5pm| FREE
Formed in 1991 in the Republic of the Congo and now based in France, they exemplify the new wave of African music with a dramatic fusion of heritage and modernity. The atmosphere and intensity of their percussive sound is infectious.
With a role call featuring artists from Buenos Aires to Warsaw, other musical acts include the hypnotic Warsaw Village Band, the iconic Kilfenora Céilí Band celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, sensational Natty Wailer formerly of Bob Marley and the Wailers, the electrifying Babylon Circus and the exotic Tarab.
Festival of World Cultures is not only about music. Other highlights this year include:
FEAST AMERICANA | Clarinda Park | August 29 & 30 |11am – 7pm | FREE
This new festival event celebrates the quintessential American country fair with soul lifting Gospel, old-time bluegrass, Cajun, Appalachian and stompin’ Country and Delta blues. With sumptuous traditional food, dance shows, arts and crafts, contests, flash-mobs and tales of yore, Feast Americana is a veritable festival all of its own.
HOTEL KIEV | Royal Marine Hotel | August 29 |10.30pm |FREE
A feast for both the eyes and ears Hotel Kiev is an outdoor audiovisual spectacle, featuring a live performance by acclaimed Ukrainian group DakhaBrakha, whose compelling and entrancing music accompanies a visual installation by local artist Ciaran McClelland.
FESTIVAL CLUB | Kingston Hotel | August 29 & 30 |8pm |€15
Experience those rare and precious musical moments, when the artists come together to go back to their roots. The Kingston Hotel Ballroom is the setting for this intimate and inspirational cultural hothouse, when festival artists perform and relax after a hard day’s play. Or perhaps play hard some more!
Other colourful events include the Mela, a celebration of South Asia in the beautiful People’s Park, the invigorating Health & Harmony – Global Therapies Fair, the wonderful Eastern Lights – Sky Lantern Event, lively Spoken Word performances and Salon Culture where you can indulge in therapies from around the globe.
The Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s Festival of World Cultures is supported by the Arts Council, Dublin Bus, Failte Ireland, RTÉ, The Irish Times and Oxfam Ireland.
For More Information: http://www.festivalofworldcultures.com
Box Office:
+353 1 231 2929
