We’re proud of the diversity on display at Greenbelt, with artists appearing from every far-flung corner of our lovely planet. Here are a few of our top picks to take you on a whistle-stop round-the-world adventure in one festival.
- Palestine – Our first stop sees 47SOUL mixing analogue synths, guitars, and Arabic and English lyrics to create a cacophonous hybrid of Palestinian street music and dance.
- Colombia – Next, hop over to South America (via Brussels, where La Chiva Gantiva met) for a riotous mix of Afro-Colombian and traditional beats.
- Polynesia – Meet Dr Winston Halapua, the Tongan-born Bishop of Polynesia and New Zealand. Sail to his southern seas and hear about the devastating effects of the rising sea levels on his far-flung parish of island nations.
- Pakistan – Multi-talented Fahad Khalid has cooked up an entirely new genre – “Eastern folk jazz” – that combines the best bits of Indian classical music and sufi Qawali music. Inspired by Rumi, no less.
- South Africa – Witness groundbreaking avant garde maestros Thabang Thabane | Sibusile Xaba blend jazz, Maskandi and Malombo music into a heady cocktail of African rhythms.
- New York – Start spreading the news…exemplar of ‘dirty gospel’, New Yorker Rev Vince Anderson, is back in town! His current project? Setting the psalms to music, King David style.
- Nigeria – Novelist Chibundo Onuzo’s vivid writing on contemporary Nigeria, Welcome to Lagos, will get you thinking about morality’s role in an increasingly hostile world.