Last year the Chicago World Music Festival halved its schedule, cutting down to five days after 2002’s blockbuster ten-day run. The fest has rebounded this year with a full week of music, but it’s still clearly suffering from the sagging economy: unlike festivals booked by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events (jazz, blues, gospel, Celtic music), which have more or less fixed annual budgets, the World Music Festival depends on whatever funding Mike Orlove and the Department of Cultural Affairs can scare up–sometimes the city kicks in a portion of the money, but organizers have to chase sponsors and grants for the rest. Early in its history the festival frequently brought international artists into the country, kick-starting their American tours, but for the past two years financial constraints have forced Orlove and company to rely primarily on acts that already had stateside tours booked.
12:30 PM, Claudia Cassidy Theater
12:30 PM, Borders Books & Music (Michigan)
Quebecois folk often sounds like a cross between Celtic and Cajun music, and this bilingual trio commands an impressive repertoire of such traditional material, both popular and obscure, sprinkled with pithy original tunes. Many Quebecois artists play the spoons or bones to bring out the music’s jaunty dance rhythms, but Genticorum sticks to the most old-fashioned percussion of all: underneath the acoustic guitar, fiddle, wooden flute, electric bass, and impressive three-part vocal harmonies you can hear the sound of stamping feet. The group also plays Celtic Fest Chicago on September 18.
Mary Jane Campbell
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Chicago native Ron Trent is one of the most in-demand house DJs in the world, and in more and more of his recent work he’s carefully matched international sounds to the traditional club beats. A few years ago he collaborated with Groove Collective reedist Jay Rodriguez to make Olajope (Six Degrees), a smooth and soulful addition to the Nuyorican house canon that features cameos by Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes and New York percussionist Eddie Bobe. African-tinged dance records are a regular part of his DJ sets, and this summer he teamed up with Sonotheque’s Sonia Hassan to launch a monthly series called “Africa Hi-Fi,” which explores the African roots of modern pop and dance music. This program is the second installment of the series.
