This year’s program includes several premier concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park including Red Baraat, La Santa Cecilia, Mahmoud Ahmed, Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa, Orlando Julius & the AfroSoundz, Tal National, L. Subramaniam and Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal and Brothers.
Additional high points of the World Music Festival Chicago 2015 include an Ethiopian New Year celebration; Ragamala, an all-night celebration of Indian classical music at the Chicago Cultural Center; and a performance by Canadian artist Tanya Tagaq to complement a screening of the 1922 silent film Nanook of the North at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
“World Music Festival Chicago offers residents and visitors a unique opportunity to experience celebrated musicians from every corner of the world at a variety of venues both downtown and throughout our neighborhoods,” said Michelle T. Boone, Commissioner of Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. “Since it began in 1999, the internationally acclaimed music festival has presented more than 800 artists from over 80 countries, making it the largest world music festival in the United States.”
World Music Festival Chicago 2015 Performance Schedule
(Subject to Change)
Friday, September 11
Planeta Azul + Passistas Samba Dance Group
Chicago SummerDance, Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park
601 S. Michigan Ave.
Dance Lesson: 6–7 p.m., Live Music: 7:30–9:30 p.m.
All ages
Hailu Mergia | Cyro Baptista’s Banquet of the Spirits
Martyrs’
3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
8 p.m.
21+
Red Baraat + Ester Rada
Lincoln Hall Chicago
2424 N. Lincoln Ave
Doors: 8 p.m., Show: 9 p.m.
21+
La Santa Cecilia + Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta
Mayne Stage
1328 W. Morse Ave.
Doors: 7:30 p.m., Show: 9 p.m.
18+
Saturday, September 12
Red Baraat + La Santa Cecilia
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
201 E. Randolph St.
3 p.m.
All ages
Dos Santos Anti-Beat Orquesta
Chicago SummerDance, Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park
601 S. Michigan Ave.
Dance Lesson: 6 – 7 p.m., Live Music: 7:30-9:30 p.m.
All ages
Cyro Baptista’s Banquet of the Spirits
Old Town School of Folk Music, The Gary and Laura Maurer Hall
4544 North Lincoln Avenue
Doors: 7:30 p.m., Show: 8 p.m.
All ages
Hailu Mergia + Ester Rada
The Promontory
5311 S. Lake Park Ave. West
Doors: 7 p.m., Show: 8 p.m.
All ages
Uptown Saturday Nights
¡ESSO! Afrojam Funkbeat
Uptown Lounge
1136 W Lawrence Ave.
Set times: 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
21+
Sunday, September 13
Mahmoud Ahmed + Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
201 E. Randolph St.
3 p.m.
All ages
DJ Sunny Singh + Kalapriya Artist & Dancer, Komal Shah
Chicago SummerDance, Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park
601 S. Michigan Ave.
Dance Lesson: 4 – 5 p.m., Live Music: 5 –7 p.m.
All ages
Terakaft + Tangleweed
Martyrs’
3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
8 p.m.
All ages
Monday, September 14
Simon Shaheen Quartet
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall
78 E. Washington St.
6:30 p.m.
All ages
Tuesday, September 15
Maarja Nuut
Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater
78 E. Washington St.
6:30 p.m.
All ages
Wednesday, September 16
We Banjo 3 + Maarja Nuut
Old Town School of Folk Music, Myron R. Szold Music & Dance Hall
4545 N. Lincoln Ave.
Doors: 6:30 p.m., Show: 7 p.m.
All ages
Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa + Ronnie Malley with Las Guitarras de España
Old Town School of Folk Music, The Gary and Laura Maurer Hall
4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Doors: 8 p.m., Show: 8:30 p.m.
All ages
Thursday, September 17
We Banjo 3
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall
78 E. Washington St.
6:30 p.m.
All ages
Friday, September 18
Juicebox: Funkadesi
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall
78 E. Washington St.
11 a.m.
All ages
Ragamala: A Celebration of Indian Classical Music
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall
78 E. Washington St.
8 p.m.–8 a.m.
All ages
8–9:15 p.m.: Lyon Leifer, bansuri with Subhasis Mukherjee, tabla
9:30–10:30 p.m.: Sara Ranganathan, veena and G S Rajan, bansuri with Ganapathi Ranganathan, mridangam
10:45 p.m. –midnight: Kala Ramnath, violin with Abhijit Bannerjee, tabla
12:15–1:30 a.m.: Nayan Ghosh, sitar with Shyam Kane, tabla
1:45–2:45 a.m.: GuruPrasad, Carnatic Flute accompanied with mridangam and violin
2:55–3:55 a.m.: Manjira Vaishampayan, vocal with Subhasis Mukherjee, tabla and harmonium
4:05–5:05 a.m.: Narmatha Jeyasingham, mridangam with Kalapriya Dancers
5:15–6:15 a.m.: Carnatic Vocal, TBD artist
6:25–8 a.m.: Kartik Seshadri, sitar with Shyam Kane, tabla
Karolina Cicha & Bart Pałyga + KGB Band
Martyrs’
3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
8 p.m.
21+
Orlando Julius & the AfroSoundz + Boogat
Mayne Stage
1328 W. Morse Ave.
Doors: 7:30 p.m., Show: 9 p.m.
18+
Saturday, September 19
Orlando Julius & the AfroSoundz + Tal National
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
201 E. Randolph St.
3 p.m.
All ages
Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal and Brothers + Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa
University of Chicago Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
915 E. 60th St.
Doors: 6 p.m., Show: 7 p.m.
All ages
Zedashe + Kardemimmit
DePaul University Concert Hall
800 W. Belden Ave.
Doors: 7:30 p.m., Show: 8 p.m.
All ages
Tanya Tagaq – Nanook of the North
Museum of Contemporary Art
220 E. Chicago Ave.
7:30 p.m.
18+
Presented by MCA Stage, Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and World Music Festival Chicago 2015
Amir ElSaffar: Two Rivers
Constellation Chicago
3111 N. Western Ave.
Doors: 8 p.m., Show: 8:30 p.m.
18+
Sunday, September 20
One World Under One Roof
Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St.
1-7 p.m.
All ages
Paolo Angeli | Karolina Cicha | Andreas Kapsalis
Preston Bradley Hall
1–2:15 p.m.: Andreas Kapsalis
3:15–4:30 p.m.: Karolina Cicha
5:15–6:30 p.m.: Paolo Angeli
Zedashe | Kardemimmit | Amir ElSaffar
Claudia Cassidy Theater
1:30–2:45 p.m.: Amir ElSaffar
3:45–5:00 p.m.: Kardemimmit
5:45–7:00 p.m.:Zedashe
Inaugural Global Peace Picnic
Commemorating United Nations International Day of Peace
Boogat
DJ Ushka
Future Rootz DJ Collective
Humboldt Park Boathouse
1301 N. Sacramento Ave.
12-7 p.m.
All ages
L. Subramaniam + Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal and Brothers
Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion
201 E. Randolph St.
3 p.m.
All ages
Tal National + Chicago Afrobeat Project
Mayne Stage
1328 W. Morse Ave.
Doors: 6:30 p.m., Show: 7 p.m.
18+
Monday, September 21
Kassé Mady Diabaté + Seneke West African Percussion Ensemble
Mayne Stage
1328 W. Morse Ave.
Doors: 6:30 p.m., Show: 7 p.m.
18+
Lula Pena + Paolo Angeli
City Winery Chicago
1200 W. Randolph St.
Doors: 6 p.m., Show: 8 p.m.
All ages
Tuesday, September 22
Kassé Mady Diabaté + Lula Pena
Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall
78 E. Washington St.
6:30 p.m.
All ages
The Patricia Ibáñez and Abel Harana Company presents Memoria Antigua
City Winery
1200 W. Randolph St.
Doors: 6 p.m., Show: 8 p.m.
All ages
The free admission World Music Festival Chicago is presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and sponsored by the Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Tribune, Metra and Millennium Garages. The appearance of La Santa Cecilia, is supported by the National Museum of Mexican Art as part of their annual Sor Juana Festival, a multidisciplinary festival that honors one of Mexico’s greatest writers, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a 17th-century Spanish-Mexican nun who valued the education of women.
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This include fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
