As she gears up to release her next body of work titled Sankofa, Afro-Soul sensation Thandiswa ‘King Tha’ Mazwai is planning to spread some healing this weekend in New York City with her incomparable on-stage presence when she performs at New York’s GlobalFest.
The festival, billed for 14 January, is taking place at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall.
Late last year, she announced she would be making her way to the ”Big Apple” to make appearances and perform at multiple places.
In a statement shared with News24, the organisers said the festival is known for “bridging cultural divides and bringing audiences together through the universal language of music.”
“We look forward to heading back to NYC with GlobalFest and can’t wait to create sacred spaces for healing and freedom at the world-renowned Lincoln Center,” said Mazwai.
The singer-songwriter is not new to international stages, and has performed at the Apollo Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, The Cannes Film Festival, Africa Express, BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music, TED, Afropunk, and Carnegie Hall Citywide Festival, among others.
“What is also exciting is that so many people who are involved in the making of my upcoming album, Sankofa, are also performing in New York this coming weekend. Meshell Ndegeocello, who produced a few songs, will be doing a residency at the Blue Note, Nduduzo Makhathini is playing at the New York Winter Jazzfest, and one of my new favourites, Julius Rodriguez, who plays piano on some of the songs, will also be performing. So New York will be all wrapped up in the sounds of Sankofa this weekend,” she said.
In the past, the festival has showcased more than 200 artists and groups from 70 different countries to further build excitement. This year’s GlobalFest lineup follows suit.
The lineup includes the electronic-infused Indo-classical sounds of Karsh Kale and Yasser Tejeda’s new spin on Afro-Dominican roots music.
Also on the list are gripping singer-songwriter and Brazilian activist Bia Ferreira; Catalan electro-folk duo Tarta Relena; Lonnie Holley, whose live shows contain new and spontaneously created sounds; psychedelic Moroccan-French Gnawa quartet Bab L’ Bluz.
Completing the artist lineup are Grammy award-winning Villalobos Brothers, who fuse Mexican folk with jazz and classical music; the Puerto Rican Bomba band El Laberinto del Coco; and the Ukrainian-Canadian band Balaklava Blues, which fuses Ukrainian polyphony and folk traditions with electronica.
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The above lineup was curated by festival co-directors Bill Bragin, Isabel Soffer, and Shanta Thake -who is also Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts – plus guest curator Zion Jackson.
As per the statement, Bragin, Soffer, and Thake said they were thrilled to bring artists from all over the world to Lincoln Center once again.
“The power of music to bring people together during trying times is more important than ever. GlobalFest began following the dark days between 9/11 and the start of the Iraq War. Now in its 21st year, as the world faces new conflicts and the horrors of war are all around us, we remain devoted to encouraging cultural awareness through musical discovery.”