The Cedar presents the 2009 Global Roots Festival, September 24-27. Expanding upon its ten year run of Nordic Roots Festivals, this annual event will now encompass performers from all over the world, each with their own unique take on their "local" music.

Global Roots music is not necessarily what most people easily identify as "world music."  Conventions of rock, hip hop, jazz, and music from many cultures are blended. Barriers are crossed both geographically and stylistically. Like our previous focus with Nordic Roots, the presentation is decidedly contemporary, but the roots go back centuries.

All of this year's festival evening shows will be "standing room only," presented on an open floor for dancing and rocking...

Special Opening Night Gala: Thursday, September 24 (co-presented by Walker Art Center):
BLK JKS (South Africa) With a wrecking-crew rhythm section, debonair vocals, and a guitar concoction that’s one part shred and two parts soul, it’s easy to understand why South Africa’s BLK JKS took music mega-gathering SXSW by storm last year. The band shoots an African musical sensibility through the tenets of rock, electronic, and soul, reclaiming styles that have been stolen, watered down, and regurgitated for generations. BLK JKS’s fresh, forward rhythms, layered harmonies, elliptical guitar vernacular, and infectious urban Zulu mbaqanga blues combine in a swirl of coolness and confusion, experimentation and tribal energy, political commitment and polyrhythmic beats.

Also now scheduled to appear at the festival, September 25-27:

Forró in the Dark (Brazil): Forró in the Dark starts with the hip-swiveling, dancefloor-filling,  rural party music of Brazil's northeastern states (called forró) and  cranks it up to a no-holds-barred all-out dance party.

Bajofondo (Argentina, Uruguay): Often compared to Gotan Project, their earlier music had blended acoustic tango and electronic music, part of an evolving tango genre which is known as "Electrotango", which brought tango back into the mainstream. Besides the aforementioned mixture of tango and electronica, the band is innovative form of DNB, house music, chill out and trip-hop. Their first record, Bajofondo Tango Club, was launched in 2002 with great success, with a second lone project from pianist/DJ/composer Luciano Supervielle greeted warmly by reviewers in late 2005. More recent music from their third album, Mar Dulce, is a fusion of Latin Alternative with contemporary music forms along the Río de la Plata at the border of Argentina and Uruguay.

Speaking In Tongues (Twin Cities): A local cross-cultural quartet with percussionists Marc Anderson and Sowah Mensah (Ghana), bassist Enrique Toussaint (Mexico) and Chinese pipa master Gao Hong.

Os Mutantes (Brazil): Though rarely heard outside their Brazilian homeland (especially during their brief heyday), Os Mutantes were one of the most dynamic, talented, radical bands of the psychedelic era — quite an accomplishment during a period when most every rock band spent quality time exploring the outer limits of pop music. A trio of brash musical experimentalists, the group fiddled with distortion, feedback, musique concrète, and studio tricks of all kinds to create a lighthearted, playful version of extreme Brazilian pop. Now, 35 years after their last studio album, the group has reformed to record a new album Haih, (Sept 8, Anti Records).

The Brass Kings with Nirmala and Soukousize (Twin Cities): Carnatic Indian, African and American Folk traditions share their secrets onstage as three groups from very different parts of the world come together for a very special performance.  When they all play together at the Cedar the result is ecstatic.  The seamless shifting of the pulse from musician to musician - each stating their own distict vision only to meld again with the whole group - is captivating and uplifting.  Imagine the pulse of African percussion, South Indian drumming and old-time American Washboard & Washtub bass boiling underneath a shimmering atmosphere of Resonator guitar, South Indian Veena and African guitar solos.  Add some Carribbean rhythms, bluesy roots Vocals and soaring Indian melodies and you can't help but be transported.

Huun Huur Tu & Carmen Rizzo (Tuva, U.S.): Huun Huur Tu come from Tuva, a republic of the Russian Federation, a sparsely settled Siberian land of grasslands, boreal forests, and mountain ridges. Huun Huur Tuʼs music features rare instruments and preserves and develops some of the world's oldest forms of music making. The best-known genre of Tuvan music is xöömei (throat-singing) in which naturally produced vocal sounds create astonishingly unique textures and harmonics. The bandʼs past collaborations range from Ry Cooder to The Kronos Quartet & Frank Zappa. The new album Eternal is a collaboration with electronic musician & record producer Carmen Rizzo (Niyaz, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Paul Oakenfold, Seal) who transforms this ancient music into an enticing blend of ambient electronic, exotic rhythms and lush acoustic textures. This wonderful album takes you through a dream-like sequence featuring bowed ancient strings colliding with low-end keyboards while the haunting voices of Huun Huur Tu howl through the mesmerizing pulses. A musical journey for all looking to escape.

Watcha Clan (France): Watcha Clan are a fierce posse of musical nomads, their multi-ethnic, multi-groove infusions whip audiences into a dance frenzy, regardless of where in the world W-Clan happen to be on their never-ending tour trail. Along the way they've met talented DJs, fellow musical travelers on dance floor journeys. Friendship and mutual inspiration blossomed,communicated in the languages of dub, ragga, reggae, drum'n'bass and electro, sung to melodies traditional or modern,with arabic and Mediterranean flavorings.

Tickets and festival passes go on sale at noon Friday July 31 from the Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Ceadr outlets, and online at Ticketweb.

Festival passes only $79 (gains you entry to all six shows of the Global Roots Festival at a saving of $29 over day of show ticket prices, AND gives you entry to a special opening night pre-show beer and sushi reception at 7pm on Thu 9/24). Passes available from Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2) and Ticketline only.