My favorite weekend of the year, the one that includes the Richmond Folk Festival, is coming up shortly: It's Friday October 10th through Sunday October 12th. And that means it's also time for Global A Go-Go's annual Folk Festival preview show, where I fill you in on the international artists I'm excited about seeing there.
This year that list starts with Ustad Naseeruddin Saami & the Saami Brothers from Karachi, Pakistan. The Saamis are probably the very last singers in the world of the 49-note surti microtonal octave scale (FYI, conventional Western notation has 12 tones per octave), which they employ in the performance of qawwali music and its predecessor, khayal. They'll presents programs of both styles of music at the Folk Festival.
I'm also stoked to see one of my favorite reggae singers active today, Meta Dia, originally from Senegal and now living in New York City, with his band the Cornerstones. And one of the most interesting new African acts anywhere, Dogo du Togo & the Alagaa Beat Band, led by Serge Massama Dogo, who lived for 20 years in Washington DC but is now based back in his hometown of Lomé, Togo.
Also on the Folk Festival schedule and on this week's program (Sunday October 5, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): Richard Hagopian, America's foremost oud player, who will be accompanied at the Festival by two additional generations of his family; Raiatea Helm who will introduce you to Hawaiian leo ki'eki'e (falsetto singing); Villa 5, a young all-siblings música norteña band from southern California; and Son Qba, Cuban son specialists from Miami.
Podcast: radio4all.net/program/121053
All the podcasts: radio4all.net/series/Global%20A%20Go-Go
Artist | Country | Song | Recording | Label | Year
Oliver Lake | USA | Separation | Matador Of 1st & 1st | Passin' Thru | 1997
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros | England UK | Global A Go-Go | Global A Go-Go | Hellcat | 2001
The Kef Time Band | USA-Armenia | Soode Soode | Kef Time | Traditional Crossroads | 1994-1967
Yuri Yunakov, Ivo Papasov, Salif Ali & Neshko Neshev | Bulgaria | Filips Kyuchek | Together Again | Traditional Crossroads | 2005
Ustad Saami | Pakistan | God Is | God Is Not a Terrorist | Glitterbeat | 2019
Ustad Saami | Pakistan | Twilight | God Is Not a Terrorist | Glitterbeat | 2019
Raiatea Helm | Hawaii USA | Ahulili | Hawaiian Blossom | Raiatea Helm Records | 2007
Tubize Royal Hawaiian Orchestra | Hopewell VA USA | Sweetheart of Mandalay | Virginia Roots: The 1929 Richmond Sessions | Outhouse | 2002
Ry Cooder | USA | Stand By Me | Chicken Skin Music | Reprise | 1976
Flaco Jimenez | USA | Carmelita (feat. Dwight Yoakam) | Partners | Reprise | 1992
Villa 5 | USA | En Las Cantinas | En Las Cantinas - Single | Anvem Muzik | 2025
Son Qba | Cuba-USA | De Camino a la Vereda | De Camino a la Vereda - Single | YouTube | 2023
Eliades Ochoa | Cuba | Qué Humanidad | Sublime Ilusion | Higher Octave | 1999
Sierra Maestra | Cuba | Dundunbanza | Dundunbanza! | World Circuit | 1994
Meta & The Cornerstones | Senegal-Israel-Japan-Jamaica-Lebanon-USA | Beloved Africa (feat. Damian Jr. Gong Marley) | Ancient Power | VP / Metarize Music Group | 2014
Meta & The Cornerstones | Senegal-Israel-Algeria-Japan-Cote D'Ivoire-Jamaica-USA | Bilal | Hira | Baco / Metarize Music Group | 2017
Meta & The Cornerstones | Senegal-Israel-Japan-Jamaica-USA | Breeze | Dia | Metarize Music Group | 2021
Dogo du Togo | Togo-DC USA | Soké Wo | Soké Wo - Single | self-released | 2021
Dogo du Togo & the Alagaa Beat Band | Togo-DC USA | Enouwo Lagnon | Avoudé | We Are Busy Bodies | 2024
Roger Damawuzan & les As du Benin | Togo | Wait For Me | Wait For Me - Single | Akue | 1972
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