February 3, 2012

Liberal Arts / September 2009 / Music from Near and Far

Music from Near and Far

If you want to avoid great, interesting and eclectic live music this week, you’ll have to try pretty hard.

That’s because two major events hit downtown Madison: The Madison World Music Festival kicks off today and continues through Saturday, while the Forward Music Festival runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Madison World Music Festival, now in its sixth year, brings in artists from around the world for a festival of workshops, lectures, outreach events, and music, dance and other cultural performances. Events are held at the Wisconsin Union Theater, Memorial Union Terrace and the Willy Street Fair.

A highlight is the Mystical Arts of Tibet. The monks of the Drepung Loseling monastery, who are endorsed by the Dalai Lama as a means of promoting world peace and healing through sacred performing art, are known for their multiphonic singing, traditional Tibetan instruments and clothing, and the complex sand mandala art they create. The monks will construct a sand mandala over five days, beginning with a ceremony at the Union today at 4 p.m. And they’ll perform on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater.

The World Music Festival also features Red Baraat from India and New York City, Kepa Junkera from the Basque Country, Kusun Ensemble from Ghana, Orchestre de Tetouan from Morocco, Maria de Barros from Cape Verde, Parno Graszt from Hungary, Hanggai from Inner Mongolia and Los de Abajo from Mexico. Check out a festival guide here.

Now in its second year, the Forward Music Festival draws bands from across the country, but keeps a special emphasis on local musicians and groups with local ties. That means a lineup featuring such recognizable names as Low, Dan Wilson and Ra Ra Riot along with Madison artists like the Blueheels, Daniel and the Lion and Jeremiah Nelson & The Achilles Heel. But perhaps the best example of this partnering is headliner Andrew Bird, who performs on Saturday at Overture Center, with the Madison band Pale Young Gentlemen opening. Find the full schedule here.

Performances take place at a variety of downtown venues, including the High Noon Saloon, Majestic Theatre, Project Lodge, Orpheum and Frequency.

Here at the magazine, our talented editorial interns have been working like crazy the past few weeks, researching bands, conducting interviews, writing bios, Twittering and more—all to create a guide to the festival, found here. And the four of them—Drew Goldblatt, Alexandra Graves, Sean Kittridge and Natalie Sandy—will be taking in as many performances as possible the next few days and writing about their experiences. So keep checking their festival guide for new content.

And enjoy a music-filled rest of the week!

Photos of the Mystical Arts of Tibet and Andrew Bird courtesy of the Wisconsin Union Theater and Overture Center.