DCASE announces schedule for the 21ST Annual World Music Festival Chicago from September 13 to 29

Performances at 17 venues across the city include the all-night Ragamala at the Chicago Cultural Center, ¡SÚBELO! – A Celebration of Pan Latin Music and Culture in Millennium Park, the Global Peace Picnic in Humboldt Park and World Music Festival meets the World Dumpling Fest at Navy Pier and much more

Chicago, IL, 2019-Jul-29 — /Travel PR News/ — The world will come together for the 21ST Annual World Music Festival Chicago at 17 venues across the city from September 13 to 29. Celebrating diverse music from across the globe, this FREE festival is produced by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and is the largest festival of its kind in the United States. The full schedule can be found at worldmusicfestivalchicago.org.

World Music Festival Chicago opens Friday, September 13, with Ragamala: A Celebration of Indian Classical Music an overnight concert starting at 6pm through 8am on Saturday. A tradition in India, ragas (traditional scales or modes) are all-night classical concerts seldom held publicly in the United States. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to experience ragas as they are meant to be heard – during early morning and late-night, under the Tiffany stained-glass dome of Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.). Presented in collaboration with Indian Classical Music Society of Chicago and People of Rhythm, performances will feature Hindustani and Carnatic music.

¡SÚBELO! – A Celebration of Pan Latin Music and Culture starts at 3pm on Saturday, September 14 in Millennium Park. ¡Súbelo! (turn it up) features headliner, Pirulo y La Tribu from Puerto Rico, combining Nuyorican salsa, Afro-Cuban son and Puerto Rican bomba for a classic meets modern 21st century salsa and timba; Centavrvs, whose “electronica regional Mexicana” has made them one of the most popular indie bands from Mexico City; and Los Wembler’s de Iquitos, cumbia pioneers from Iquitos, Peru, the capital of the Amazon.

The Global Peace Picnic on Sunday, September 22, will commemorate International Peace Day at the Humboldt Park Boathouse (1301 N. Sacramento Ave.) from 2 to 6pm. This day of family-friendly activities and music will feature The Garifuna Collective from Belize and Central America; KOKOKO! from the Democratic Republic of Congo; and master ‘sonero’ salsa singer Hermán Olivera from Newark, New Jersey, joined by an 11-piece band of top Chicago salsa talent convened by Segundo Ruiz Belvis, led by Nathan Rodríguez on percussion and Edwin Sánchez on piano.

Making their World Music Festival debut from Bali, Indonesia, Gamelan Çudamani takes the stage at 6pm on Friday, September 27, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (205 E. Randolph St.). One of Bali’s most active and respected ensembles, Gamelan Çudamani has been based in the village of Pengosekan near Ubud, Bali, for over 20 years. The group performs a diverse repertoire of music and dance with astonishing technical precision, high collective spirit, and artistic nuance, staying true to their name Çudamani – meaning “focus with your whole heart.

The 2019 Festival ends on Sunday, September 29, with World Music Festival meets World Dumpling Fest at the Polk Brothers Fountain and Performance Lawn at Navy Pier (600 E. Grand Ave). This collaboration among Navy Pier, the Chicago Cultural Alliance and DCASE is from noon to 7pm and includes Fidel Nadal featuring Mr. Pauer from Argentina and Venezuela, Alsarah & The Nubatones from Sudan and New York City and Chicago’s own LowDown Brass Band. Attendees will also be able to purchase dumplings from 20 neighborhood-based ethnic restaurants in the Chicago region including pierogis from Kasia’s Deli, bao and sui mai from Chinese Friendship Restaurant, coxinha de galinha and bolinho de aipim from Sinha Elegant Brazilian Cuisine & Catering and more! This all-ages event is a day of celebration of our region and world culture you won’t want to miss. For complete details, visit chicagoculturalalliance.org/alliance-programs/world-dumpling-fest.

World Music Festival is sponsored by Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Tribune, and Millennium Garages. Grant support for World Music Festival provided by the Beverly Arts Center, Chicago Park District, Irish American Heritage Center, National Museum of Mexican Art and Southern Exposure: Performing Arts of Latin America, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

The full schedule with locations and times of each performance is included below. For more information and festival updates, visit worldmusicfestivalchicago.org and follow the festival on Facebook and Twitter @WMFChicago #WorldMusicFestivalChicago.

21st Annual World Music Festival Chicago Schedule

-Schedule subject to change-

***NOTE – unless otherwise noted, all lineups are listed with the headliner first followed by the opening performers

Friday, September 13–Saturday, September 14

Ragamala – A Celebration of India Classical Music

Chicago Cultural Center

Preston Bradley Hall, 3rd Floor South

78 E. Washington St.

All Ages

6–7:15pm

Josh Feinberg, Kunal Gunjal and Amit Kavthekar

 

7:45–9pm

Akshara Music Ensemble

 

9:30–10:45pm

Jay Gandhi and Nitin Mitta

 

11:15pm–12:30am

Prasanna, Patri Satish and Samyuktha Sreeram

 

1–2:30am

Nandkishor Muley and Ambi Subramaniam with Mahesh Krishnamurthy and Raj Deshmukh

 

3–4:30am

Roopa Mahadevan, Rajna Swaminathan and Arun Ramamurthy

 

4:45–6am

Samarth Nagarkar with Amit Kavthekar and Vikas Falnikar

 

6:15–8am

Saraswathi Ranganathan with GS Rajan, Patri Satish and Ganapathi Ranganathan

 

Saturday, September 14

¡SÚBELO! – A Celebration of Pan Latin Music and Culture

Pirulo y la Tribu (Puerto Rico)

Los Wembler’s de Iquitos (Peru)

Centavrvs (Mexico)

Millennium Park

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

201 E. Randolph Street

3–7pm

All Ages

 

Lucibela (Cape Verde) | Girma Bèyènè and Akalé Wubé (Ethiopia| France | USA)

The Promontory

5311 S. Lake Park Ave. W.

6pm doors open, 7pm show

21+

 

Sunday, September 15

Girma Bèyènè and Akalé Wubé (Ethiopia| France | USA)

Khalil El’Zabar Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Chicago, USA)

Constellation

3111 N. Western Ave.

7pm

21+

 

Wednesday, September 18

The Englewood/Soweto Exchange (Chicago | South Africa)

Jeremy Dutcher (First Nation/Canada)

Old Town School of Folk Music

The Gary and Laura Maurer Hall

4544 N. Lincoln Ave.

7pm

All Ages

 

Thursday, September 19

Jeremy Dutcher (First Nation/Canada)

American Indian Center

3401 W. Ainslie St.

7pm

All Ages

 

Lankum (Ireland)

Yandong Grand Singers of China (China)

Beverly Arts Center

1309, 2407 W. 111th St.

7pm

All Ages

 

Friday, September 20

MABANG! (China)

Yandong Grand Singers of China (China)

Ping Tom Memorial Park

300 W. 19th St.

5pm

All Ages

 

Lankum (Ireland)

Irish American Heritage Center

4626 N. Knox Ave.

7pm

All Ages

 

Saturday, September 21

MABANG! (China)

DePaul University

Holtschneider Performance Center

Mary Patricia Gannon Concert Hall

2330 N. Halsted St.

7pm

 

Ikebe Shakedown (New York, USA)

Ana Ewerling (Moldova | USA)

Martyrs’

3855 N. Lincoln Ave.

8pm

21+

 

AfrotroniX (Chad | Montreal, Canada)

KOKOKO! (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Chop Shop & 1st Ward Events

2033 W. North Ave.

9pm

21+

 

Sunday, September 22

Global Peace Picnic

In commemoration of the International Day of Peace

The Garifuna Collective (Belize | Central America)

KOKOKO! (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Hermán Olivera y su Orquesta (New Jersey, USA)

Humboldt Park Boathouse

1301 N. Sacramento Ave.

2–6pm

All Ages

 

Wednesday, September 25

HaitianDansCo (Haiti)

Gurdjieff Ensemble (Armenia)

Old Town School of Folk Music

The Gary and Laura Maurer Hall

4544 N. Lincoln Ave.

7pm

All Ages

 

Thursday, September 26

Les Filles de Illighadad (Niger) | Kim So Ra (South Korea)

Sleeping Village

3734 W. Belmont Ave.

7pm

21+

 

Friday, September 27

Gamelan Çudamani (Bali, Indonesia)

Harris Theater for Music and Dance

205 E. Randolph St.

6pm

All Ages

 

Saturday, September 28

Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited (Zimbabwe | USA)

Alsarah & The Nubatones (Sudan | New York City, USA)

Funkadesi (Chicago, USA)

Chief Boima (New York City, USA)

Concord Music Hall

2047 N. Milwaukee Ave.

9pm

21+

 

Sunday, September 29

World Music Festival meets the World Dumpling Fest at Navy Pier

Collaboration among Navy Pier, Chicago Cultural Alliance and DCASE

Fidel Nadal featuring Mr. Pauer (Argentina | Venezuela)

Alsarah & The Nubatones (Sudan | New York City, USA)

LowDown Brass Band (Chicago, USA)

Navy Pier

600 E. Grand Ave.

Noon–7pm

All Ages

Contact:
Mary May
mary.may@cityofchicago.org
312.744.0576

Christine Carrino
christine.carrino@cityofchicago.org
312.744.0573

Source: City of Chicago