Based in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, Bachata Academy is the world’s only school for bachata music. The Bachata Academy, or Academia de Bachata, has 550 students, ranging in age from 3 years to 24 years old. They have a staff of 45 faculty. Theirs is the only program...
Born in Rusape, Zimbabwe, Dan Kusaya’s journey as a musician began with being immersed in traditional music and culture: ngoma percussion and dance, hosho (Zimbabwean gourd instruments), marimba, and mbira. Now, he’s a one-man band, live looping multiple instruments...
Hosted by Corey Harris – “one of blues’ most faithful contemporary griots” (NPR “Mountain Stage”) – and featuring renowned Creole/Blues musician Cedric Watson, “True Blues” brings the extraordinary living culture of the blues to the Lotus stage this year.
Local favorites Coolmule are Genevieve Koester, Jesse Woolen-Danner, Abby Ladin, and Sam Bartlett (on fiddle, guitar, bass, and banjo, respectively).
Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side, Bread and Puppet Theater is now based in Vermont.
Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small come to Lotus from the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia. Their acoustic instrumentation (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and exquisite vocal harmonies channel a golden era of Appalachian music that encompasses old-time,...
Old songs, bold harmonies / US Known for the innovation of their arrangements, Windborne’s bold harmonies are unpredictable and showcase the profound power and variations of human voices. Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan share a vibrant...
Punjabi anthems / India Sonny Singh’s music is spiritual and rebellious, “vibrant, ebullient, and energized . . . a prayer for our ailing world” (JazzTimes). His first musical outlet as a child of immigrant parents in North Carolina was singing Sikh devotional music...
Occitan polyphony / France Occitan polyphony is the starting point for this six-voice and percussion collective who see themselves as modern troubadours. Their compositions use the Occitan lan- guage as a rhythmic instrument, combining poetry with hypnotic vocal...
Taos Pueblo / US Grammy Award-winning musician Robert Mirabal performs worldwide, sharing flute songs, tribal rock, dance, and storytelling that reflect his life in Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, where he grew up. He speaks the Tiwa language and still participates in the...