Small World Music Festival Launches with Polyphonic Ground Presents

September 14 marks the launch of the 16th Annual Small World Music Festival and inaugural concert of Polyphonic Ground Presents! We are delighted to host a night of Balkan, jazz and North African grooves with Ashkenaz Foundation at Revival. Turkwaz brings to life the songs of Greece, Turkey and the Middle East; Sandcatchers bridge NYC jazz sensibility with Arabic and American roots, and Montreal’s GROOZ lays Algerian Raï on top of funk and reggae for a rousing dance floor vibe. Over a year in the making, the series pairs two distinct partner organizations to collaboratively program a night of musical discovery, and we hope you can join us for the first show of many.

Polyphonic Ground Conversations are also in the works, and we want to tackle the topics that matter most to you. Please add your voice to the Polyphonic Ground – Diversity & Live Music Conversation Series Survey by Friday, August 11 at 5pm: http://bit.ly/2uyJnR4.

Watch for more Small World Music Festival announcements to come! In the meantime, we are pleased to co-present Open Roof Festival‘s August 16 screening of one of the most acclaimed docs of the year; ‘Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World.’ The film reveals how Native American influence is an integral part of music history. We hope you can be there, and have a pair of free tickets to give away – respond to jess@smallworldmusic.com for a chance!

Finally, our fellow Polyphonic Grounders, Batuki Music, present the fourth annual Habari Africa Festival, which starts tomorrow and continues through the weekend at Harbourfront Centre. Celebrate the uniqueness, wealth and diversity of African music, dance, film and more with artists including Noumoucounda Cissoko, hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of the kora; Africa Sings, a collective especially curated for the Festival; and Diblo Dibala & Matchatcha, one of the top instrumentalists of modern African music.

Here’s GROOZ first single, “Jambirika,” recorded live at Studio Lakaz.