Friday, February 22, 2013

WOBEONFEST AUSTIN WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL TO FEATURE ANGELIQUE KIDJO, FATOUMATA DIAWARA, COLLIE BUDDZ AND OTHERS

Several more stars have joined the lineup for WobeonFest, a two-day international music celebration taking place in Downtown Austin on April 6 and 7, 2013.

Fatoumata Diawara, recently cited by NPR as one of the breakout stars of NYC's globalFEST, has been gaining buzz for her crackling performances and socially-conscious lyrics. From civil-war torn Mali, her music is representative of the modern African musician.

"We're incredibly excited," says WobeonFest founder Jakes Srinivasan. "Malian music has influenced so much of the world’s modern music – including blues and jazz. Fatoumata Diawara is such a powerful voice for women, for musicians, for human rights,… and she’s just riveting to watch live."

Bomba Estéreo is a Colombian band who gained favor with Austinites during their electric South by Southwest® (SXSW®) festival showcases in 2009 and 2010, and the Austin City Limits® (ACL) festival in 2011. Organized by Simon Mejía and fronted by Liliana Saumet, their music is a joyful, frenetic mash-up of electronic dub and hip-hop, and is known for drawing tremendous crowds.

Also joining the roster are La Santa Cecilia, a vibrant, modern-day hybrid of Latin culture, Rock and World music (from Los Angeles, who recently also performed at globalFEST); Mohammed Alidu, an acclaimed musician from Ghana who leads his band through heart-pumping grooves with his spiritual voice and talking drum; and Colombian singing sensation Duina del Mar who is teaming up with Austin-based Brazilian-Rock-Fusion band Suns Of Orpheus.

Wobeon®Fest - co-hosted by the United Way for Greater Austin who will receive a portion of the proceeds - will be held in Downtown Austin at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Angelique Kidjo (Afropop; from Benin) is the April 6 headliner, while Collie Buddz (Reggae; from Bermuda) will headline April 7. Other performers announced previously and confirmed to date include Dubtonic Kru (Reggae; from Jamaica), MAKU SoundSystem (Afro-Colombian; from Colombia/NYC), and Atash (Middle-Eastern; from Austin).

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