World Music Festival: Chicago

The largest and longest running festival of international music in the United States returns with over 80 artists at 30 venues throughout Chicago, September 21–30, 2010.

Detailed event and artists information coming soon.

The City of Chicago celebrates the best of today’s international music at the 12th annual World Music Festival this September. The city-wide, multi-venue, week-long festival has attracted over half million concertgoers and has presented more than 500 artists and ensembles from over 75 countries since it began in 1999.

Organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), the festival showcases both traditional and contemporary music from diverse cultures across the world and is presented at area museums, parks, cultural centers, plazas, theaters, clubs, and other venues, events include a combination of free and low-cost ticketed concerts. This year’s events will include performances by Khaïra Arby (Sarahan desert rhythms from Mali), Mahala Rai Banda (high energy gypsy sounds from Romania), Razia Said (a blend of African music and contemporary R&B from Madagascar), Pansori Brecht (a Korean narrative musical inspired by the work of Bertolt Brecht), Oreka TX (Basque masters of the percussion txalaparta), among many others.