world fusion – Page 2 – World Music Central

Christopher Sánchez - Latin Jazz Meets Opera cover artwork. Christopher Sánchez standing in an opera house with a tropicsl landscape on the stage.

Album reviews

Christopher Sánchez Mixes Latin Jazz and Opera on New Album

Christopher Sánchez — Latin Jazz Meets Opera (Zoho ZM 202601, 2026) Christopher Sánchez’s Latin Jazz Meets Opera traces the singer’s personal and musical journey from…

Photo Collage. (Clockwise from top left: Laura Itandehui, Minyo Crusaders, L Shankar, Angélique Kidjo, DakhaBrakha, Niladri Kumaar, Leenalchi, Bia Ferreira) Photo Credits: L Shankar - Jonathan Woo, Minyo Crusaders - Yukitaka Amemiya, Laura Itandehui - Valentina Grisales, Leenalchi - Swan Studios, Niladri Kumaar - NK Archives, Bia Ferreira - Juh Almeida, DakhaBrakha -Tanya Vilchynska, Angélique Kidjo - Brantley Gutierrez)

Events

World Music Institute Unveils 2026–27 Season With Debuts, Returning Favorites, and New Artist Series

World Music Central News Room June 21, 2026 No Comments Angelique Kidjo Bia Ferreira DakhaBrakha L Shankar Laura Itandehui Leenalchi Minyo Crusaders Niladri Kumaar world fusion world music World Music Institute

The World Music Institute (WMI) has announced its Fall-Winter 2026–27 season, following the organization’s 40th anniversary celebration as a leading New York City presenter of…

Festival Med 2026. A red-to-blue gradient background. A large golden mandala dominates the center. The festival name “MED 26” appears prominently in white lettering. A globe beneath the title. The slogan in Portuguese, “Deixa-te levar pelo mundo!” (“Let yourself be carried around the world!”), appears in the upper-right corner.

Events

Festival Med 2026: Global Legends to Meet in Loulé

World Music Central News Room June 17, 2026 No Comments Festival MED Loulé Portugal Portuguese music world fusion world music

Set in Loulé, in the south of Portugal, from June 25 to June 28, Festival Med 2026 is shaping up to be an essential cultural…

Sonic Pluriverse Festival 2026 Echoes of Gnawa banner. a colorful design with metal castanets (karkabas) in the corners.

Events

Berlin’s Sonic Pluriverse Festival 2026 Spotlights Gnawa Music in Five-Week Program

World Music Central News Room June 16, 2026 No Comments Alessia Tondo Aly Keïta Trio Asmâa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou Baaba Maal & Daande Leñol Bab L‘Bluz Garifuna Collective Gnawa Diffusion Gnawa music Hassan Boussou Hicham Bilali & Black Koyo Justin Adams Maalem Mustapha Sam & Mqaddma Souad Majid Bekkas & Bassekou Kouyaté Mauro Durante Mehdi Nassouli Moonlight Benjamin Sonic Pluriverse Festival Vieux Farka Touré world fusion world music

The 2026 Sonic Pluriverse Festival will place Gnawa music at the center of a five-week program at the rooftop terrace of Haus der Kulturen der…

Traveler — Out of the Dust cover artwork. An image of an Egyptian hieroglyphic with Egyptian musicians playing musical instruments.

Album reviews

Traveler Amalgamates Rock and Global Traditions on Out of the Dust

Ryan Emmert June 14, 2026 No Comments Traveler world fusion world music

Traveler — Out of the Dust (2019) Traveler released Out of the Dust in 2019. It is a studio album designed to capture the energy…

Events

Essaouira Prepares for Gnaoua Festival 2026 With Carlinhos Brown, Richard Bona and Yasmine Hamdan

World Music Central News Room June 12, 2026 No Comments 47Soul African heritage African music African rhythms Afro-Brazilian music Afro-diasporic music Ahwach alternative Arabic music Amazigh culture Amazigh music Anthony Morgan Arabic music artistic residency Asmaa Lmnawar AZMZ Bahia music bass Bnat Louz Bob Maghrib Bob Marley Brazilian popular music Carlinhos Brown Casablanca choral music concert series contemporary fusion contemporary music cross-cultural dialogue cultural event cultural exchange cultural tourism dabke electronic music electronic pop Essaouira Essaouira events Essawira experimental music festival lineup fusion music Ganavya global artists Gnaoua and World Music Festival Gnaoua Festival 2026 Gnaoua music Gnawa music gospel heritage music hip-hop Hoba Hoba Spirit improvisation international artists Jazz Levantine music live music Maghrebi music Moroccan heritage Moroccan music Morocco Morocco festivals multicultural festival music collaboration music festival musical collaboration Oudaden percussion post-rock Raskas Reggae Richard Bona rock samba-reggae Shamstep Souss region South Asian devotional music spiritual jazz spiritual music Tachelhit music Tafraout The Harlem Spirit of Gospel traditional music urban music vocal music world culture world fusion world music world music scene Yasmine Hamdan

From June 25 to 27, 2026, the 27th edition of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival will bring 460 artists from Morocco and abroad to…

Seu Jorge sits alone on a weathered green dumpster beneath a mural of athletes and boxers, while a vintage black car drifts through the sunlit background.

Charts

Seu Jorge’s The Other Side Reaches No. 1 on June 2026 Transglobal World Music Chart

World Music Central News Room June 1, 2026 No Comments Brazilian music Seu Jorge Transglobal World Music Chart world fusion world music

Brazilian artist Seu Jorge has claimed the top spot on the Transglobal World Music Chart for June 2026 with The Other Side, an orchestral album…

CAMiNOS - CAMiNOS cover artwork. A watercolor-style cover combines yellows, oranges, and greens with flowing contour-like lines. A black mountain outline arches above the large title “CAMiNOS.”

Album reviews

CAMiNOS Introduces Mediterranean-Focused Debut EP

Angel Romero May 30, 2026 No Comments CAMiNOS Flamenco French music Mediterranean music world fusion world music

CAMiNOS – CAMiNOS (Piment Rouge Production / ACEL WORLD WIDE / InOuïe Distribution, 2026) Marseille-based group CAMiNOS recently released its self-titled EP titled CAMiNOS (paths…

Badenya les Freres Coulibaly - Photo by Atelier Images. A row of jembe drummers.

Articles

The Jembe: West Africa’s Famed Goblet Drum

Angel Romero May 29, 2026 No Comments Adama Dramé Amazones: The Women Master Drummers of Guinea Babara Bangoura Badenya Les Frères Coulibaly Ballet Djoliba Ballet National du Burkina Ballet National du Mali Bolokada Conde Burkinan music Désiré Ouattara djembe Djiguiya drumming Ensemble Instrumental National du Mali Famoudou Konaté Farafina Fodéba Keïta Guinean music jembe Les Ballets Africains Les Percussions de Guinée Malian music Mamady Keïta Mohamed Bangoura Moussa Traore Nansady Keita Nimbaya Papa Ladji Camara Salimata Diabaté Seydou Dao Soungalo Coulibaly West African music world fusion world music

(headline image: Badenya les Freres Coulibaly – Photo by Atelier images) The jembe is a rope-tuned, skin-headed goblet drum associated above all with Mandé cultural…

Sound and Meridian Brothers - Ritmo Babilonia cover artwork. A cartoon style illustration of three men over a yellow background.

Music videos

Beck, Mexican Institute of Sound and Meridian Brothers Join on “Ritmo Babilonia”

World Music Central News Room May 25, 2026 No Comments Beck Meridian Brothers Mexican Institute of Sound world fusion world music

Mexican Institute of Sound and Meridian Brothers have released “Ritmo Babilonia,” the final single from their collaborative album Ruido Tovar. The track features Beck and…