It’s not fair to compare the 2014 World Music Festival roster with the mind-boggling lineups of the late 90s and early 00s. Times change, and those glory days are gone—budgets are smaller at the agencies that organize and support the fest, U.S. work visas are harder than ever to obtain (at least for nonstars), and foreign artists can make more touring Europe (or even staying at home). That said, this year’s event is pretty terrific. It includes the Chicago debut of dynamic Hungarian tamburitza band Söndörgő, two sets by charismatic Garifuna singer Aurelio Martinez (who’s supporting an excellent new album), and three shows from party-starting Balkan brass stalwarts the Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar—plus return trips by some exciting recent visitors, among them Nigerian Afrobeat heir Seun Kuti, Italian folk troupe Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, and Brazilian singer Momo.
Thursday, September 11 Bombino opens. 6 PM, Pritzker Pavilion
La Bottine Souriante Since 1976, this gigantic Quebecois band has been keeping the French musical traditions of North America alive—and keeping them up all night. Accordion, fiddle, double bass, piano, bouzouki, mandolin, and percussive dancing (similar to Irish step dancing and Appalachian flatfooting) form the core of La Bottine Souriante’s sound, and for more than two decades it’s had a boisterous horn section as well. Though the band has a few ballads in its repertoire, what it’s famous for is nonstop dance music, frenetic and swinging and so tightly orchestrated that no cold winds can blow in through the cracks. These folks have dabbled in jazz and salsa and collaborated with Basque and Irish bands, and of course their music has a close kinship with the stuff their Cajun cousins dance to down south. Swapping instruments with abandon and dancing like drops of water on a hot skillet, the members of La Bottine Souriante have more than enough energy to fill Pritzker Pavilion. —Monica Kendrick
Sunday, September 14 Calypso Rose with Kobo Town open. 3 PM, Pritzker Pavilion
Monday, September 15 Oumar Konaté headlines (see below). 7 PM, Mayne Stage, 18+
Thu 9/11-Sun 9/21, various venues and timesworldmusicfestivalchicago.org All shows free All shows all-ages unless noted
