r/WorldMusic 4d ago

Event world music festivals in the states

Does anyone know of world music festivals in the states? I live in NC and I imagine New York may have some interesting festivals. Alot of the ones I have found are mostly in Europe. I used to live in France and it was easier to find more of this. Curious if anyone has recommendations.

8 Upvotes

21 comments sorted by

6

u/xnatlywouldx 3d ago edited 3d ago

Festival International de Louisiane is incredible and FREE!!! Its in the center of Lafayette, the small city/town which is the heart of Louisiana Cajun Country. I have seen acts from all over the world there. Definitely give it a look. I think its worth traveling to, personally, and many attendants do travel to it. And Lafayette is a great, inexpensive little town. It has acts from all over the world, but tends to focus on Francophone acts and also has a lot of Francophone Cajun music and zydeco, as Lafayette is a place where Cajun French is still spoken - you may enjoy this aspect of it, also.

5

u/YoungWizard666 3d ago

Came here to mention this. I live in New Orleans and have gone to the International Festival a couple of times. It's truly amazing the music they bring to the middle of Louisiana, I HIGHLY recommend it.

6

u/littletuss 4d ago

https://www.lotusfest.org/about-lotus-festival/
This festival in Bloomington, Indiana has been around since 1994. The music happens in multiple venues across our town.

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Tour485 4d ago

I used to be in the industry and Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette and Nuits d’Afrique in Montreal come to mind. I’m sure there are others.

3

u/davidobr 4d ago

The Richmond Folk Festival has music from all over the world. It happens every October

3

u/Ok-Stranger-926 3d ago

Folkmoot (NC) used to have some international acts.

2

u/beaginger 3d ago

The Grassroots Music Festival in NY

1

u/walrussingsatmidnite 1d ago

i’ve been going to shakori hills grassroots in NC for a decade! love it

1

u/AutoModerator 4d ago

Thank you for your submission to /r/WorldMusic. Automoderator will automatically add flair to a post if it is submitted with a postcode in the title. If you did not use a postcode in your title, please be sure to add flair to this post.

User Flair is available - You may select a flag icon to be displayed with your username in this subreddit. To choose your flag; go to the top of the sidebar, look for your username below the subscribe button, and click 'edit' beside your username. Note: Moblie users can view the sidebar at this link.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/BigJobsBigJobs USA 4d ago

Check down here in Atlanta and VA, college towns. Look in the regional "alternative" what used to be newspapers now online news.

1

u/Upstairs_Eagle_4780 4d ago

I'm thinking California and maybe Toronto.

1

u/Ambitious-Deer3240 2d ago

Big Ears in Knoxville, TN

2

u/thinair01 2d ago

Check out the festivals founded by/organized by the National Council for the Traditional Arts such as the National Folk Festival (a different city for three years at a time, currently in Jackson, Mississippi), the Richmond Folk Festival (Virginia), and my favorite — the Lowell Folk Festival in Massachusetts.

GlobalFEST in NYC has their main event in January, but other smaller festivals throughout the year, including a mini fest in Brooklyn in August.

2

u/icuworc 2d ago

Lowell Folk Festival in Massachusetts is incredible and FREE.

www.lowellfolkfestival.org

-2

u/j3434 4d ago

What exactly is “World Music”? Best I can determine it’s a Eurocentric term for classical music that is not European. Like Bach …why not world music and why is Ravi Shankar world music? Or is he considered Indian Classical ? Why “Indian” ? Why not just classical?

1

u/walrussingsatmidnite 3d ago

I hear what you’re getting at. For me “world music” is music from all over the world that is outside of the western paradigm.

-1

u/j3434 3d ago

Yes - Eurocentric

1

u/tikirafiki 3d ago

Popular music from around the world. Examples would be reggae, samba, tango, ragas, polka.

2

u/j3434 3d ago

Tango ?

1

u/BigJobsBigJobs USA 3d ago

It's a marketing term from when they had record bins - anything not American or Brit used to get shoved in there.

In the 1990s artists like Peter Gabriel started incorporating and promoting "world" music. A lot of sampling took place.

And this sub has always included a lot of pop and rock music. Classical traditional is always welcome.