It can be all too easy to fall into a musical rut. Music sites like Pandora and Spotify do their best, but they don’t have everything. Every once in a while it’s good to push beyond your regular playlists and your favorite artists to find unique sounds. This Thursday, March 31, students with UCards and $5 have the opportunity to do just that by attending globalFEST in Kingsbury Hall.
GlobalFEST promises to be a high-energy event, with one individual performer and two groups providing audience members with a glimpse into various musical styles. But what is globalFEST?
“GlobalFEST is a non-profit music festival that takes place every January in New York City,” said Sheri Jardine, communications manager for Kingsbury Hall. “Artists that participate in globalFEST represent diverse musical styles from all corners of the globe, ranging from traditional to contemporary and everything in between.”
Though globalFEST has been around since 2003, this year marks its first nationwide tour.
“The producers of globalFEST wanted to create opportunities for more people to hear music from some of the amazing artists who perform at the annual festival,” Jardine said. “So they created a tour with a focus on the roots of African musical currents, crossed with a fusion of sounds from the Americas and revolving around Carnival.”
From February to now, the tour has already hit 35 cities.
Kingsbury will feature three artists: Emeline Michel, “the reigning queen of Haitian song,” according to Jardine; Casuarina, a “five-piece member group [that] is part of a samba renaissance that has spread like wildfire in recent years”; and Brushy One String, who, Jardine said, “evokes the sweetness of soul singers like Percy Sledge, Al Green, Toots Hibbert of Toots & the Maytals and the grit and wit of Delta bluesmen, all woven together with a Jamaican pulse and ingenuity.”
As Jardine explains, “Cach artist [of globalFEST] has a distinct sound, but the overall theme of the evening is Creole Carnival. The music will be fun, high-energy and will have the audience up on their feet, dancing along.”
Adventurous spirits can also engage with globalFEST before the event at a preshow party taking place at 6 p.m. on the lawn in front of Kingsbury Hall. Interested individuals can enjoy food purchased from the two food trucks that will be present while enjoying entertainment provided by local music and dance group Samba Fogo.
“Even though these are artists you probably haven’t heard of,” said Jardine,”it will be a really fun night of amazing music and a great way to try something new.”