9th Annual World Music Festival: Chicago 2007;
A Celebration of Music Around the World, Around Chicago

Chicago showcases the best of international music at the ,9th Annual World Music Festival: Chicago 2007, Friday, September 14 through Thursday, September 20, 2007. The multi-venue, one-week festival, which attracts an average of 45,000 visitors each year, showcases both traditional and contemporary music from diverse cultures across the world. The 2007 festival line-up features more than 63 events at 23 venues. Half of the events are family friendly. Events include 11 live radio broadcasts, 7 in-store performances and a mix of free and ticketed concerts presented in museums, parks, cultural centers, plazas, theaters, music stores, clubs and other venues throughout Chicago.

The festival features more than 50 artists representing 32 countries including: Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Guinea, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Tangier, Tunisia, Tuva, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and more.

"The World Music Festival is a wonderful opportunity to explore and enjoy a multitude of different music styles from across the globe. We have presented this multi-cultural celebration of music for nearly a decade, and are always delighted by the enthusiastic response of audiences throughout the city," said Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg.

New this year

World Music Festival: Chicago 2007 has added 3 new venues to its roster this year, including Chicago Latvian Cultural Center, The Kinetic Playground and Heartland Café. The festival will showcase 20 Chicago debut performances including Jose Conde & Ola Fresca, Lekan Babalola, Pacha Massive, Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan, 17 Hippies, Brina, Hazmit Modine, Nguyen Le & Huong Thahn's Fragile Beauty, Helder Moutinho, Chango Spasiuk, Balla Kouyate & World Vision, Orchestra of Tangier, Puerta Plata, Estrella Acosta's Guajira Project, and more.

Highlights

World Music Festival: Chicago 2007 Opening Night events on Friday, September 14, feature the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan and Lamajamal at the Museum of Contemporary Art; Jose Conde y Ola Fresca, Pacha Massive, and Allá at the Logan Square Auditorium; and Barrio Boogalu: The Super Barrio Brothers vs. The Agúzate DJ Crew at Sonotheque; and more.

Millennium Park will host its final concert of the summer, featuring Grammy-nominated, Indian violinist-composer-conductor L. Subramaniam and special guests on Monday, September 17. Called "the Paganini of Indian classical music"� and "the God of Indian Violin,"� he was trained in South India's classical Carnatic music tradition, and is also an accomplished Western classical musician known for his original orchestral compositions.

World Music Festival: Chicago 2007 will culminate with the World Music Festival Open House at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street, from 6:30 to 11 pm on Thursday, September 20. This free event features a diverse line-up including artists such as Amazones - Woman Drummers of Guinea, Cyro Baptista's Beat The Donkey, Kiran Ahluwalia, Chango Spasiuk, Sebastian Cruz, Brina, Helder Moutinho, and more.