Lincoln Center to Present Groundbreaking Acts at globalFEST 2025

(headline image: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, January 2023 – Photo by Lawrence Sumulong)

The 22nd edition of New York’s influential world music showcase globalFEST is set to return to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) with a remarkable lineup of artists on Sunday, January 12, 2025. Set across three stages at David Geffen Hall, globalFEST 2025 aims to celebrate musical discovery, with traditional, contemporary, and genre-defying acts, bringing together unique musical perspectives that transcend borders.

The festival returns with 10 innovative artists selected by co-directors Bill Bragin, Isabel Soffer, and Shanta Thake, Lincoln Center’s Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer, plus this year’s guest curator Priscilla Santana.

The 2025 globalFEST lineup features:

• New York’s Akshara Music Ensemble, presenting innovative performances of South Indian classical music.
• Charismatic Bamba Wassoulou Groove, playing guitar-driven Malian classics and new Bamako grooves.
• Elida Almeida, pairing her silky voice with traditional Cape Verdean grooves.
• Ghazi & Boom.Diwan collaborating with Arturo O’Farrill for a fusion of Kuwaiti pearl diving songs, Khaleeji, and Afro-Cuban jazz.
• Fiery Odesa folk, klezmer, and Balkan songs of Ukraine’s Kommuna Lux.
• Mireya Ramos and the Poor Choices, interweaving Mexican rancheras with American country tunes.
• The lively rumba flamenca of Spain’s all-female powerhouse Maruja Limón.
• Paul Beaubrun, mixing Haitian funk and Rara.
• Rebolu, honoring the rich music and dance of Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
• Zar Electrik, combining mesmerizing North African and sub-Saharan loops and electro rhythms.

Bragin, Soffer, and Thake shared: “We believe music can be a soothing and unifying force that connects people across communities, especially in turbulent times. This year’s globalFEST brings together artists who use their music to amplify cultural stories and celebrate the power and beauty of musical traditions from all over the world. We’re especially excited that Zar Electrik and Bamba Wassoulou Groove will make their New York debuts at this year’s festival.”

Since its beginning, globalFEST has been a groundbreaking for international roots music and regional American music. More details on all events can be found at globalFEST.org.