Baltimore Rhythm Festival 2016

Baltimore Rhythm Festival A Spirited Day Celebrating the Power of Rhythm and Community in Baltimore City October 1st, 2016 • Outside on 23rd Street between St. Paul & N. Lovegrove Streets, and in front of the Baltimore Lab School • Inside of Lovely Lane Church, at 2200 St Paul St, Baltimore, MD 21218 Noon-6 PM Free Afternoon Festival with Stage and Street Performances, Workshops, Vendors, People's Playground, and Jams! 7:30-10 PM Evening Concert featuring Sankofa, Amadou Kouyate, and Bomani Armah and Immalechufinish Midtown Baltimore will be abuzz Oct. 1st with an afternoon of free stage performances, workshops, drum circles, community groups and vendors. The day culminates with a ticketed Evening Concert celebrating the deeply rooted and contemporary African American heritage of uplifting and socially conscious performance. The Baltimore Rhythm Festival returns for a third year on Oct. 1st inside and outside Lovely Lane Church and in the Old Goucher Community, on St. Paul Street between 22nd and 24th Streets. An afternoon of free activities from noon until 6 PM includes performances, workshops, drum circles, and community groups. Vendors will offer global cuisine, cultural fashion, crafts, and musical instruments. A ticketed Evening Concert follows at 7:30 featuring Amadou Kouyate, Bomani Armah and Immaletchufinish, and Baltimore’s Sankofa Dance Theater. The Freefall Afternoon includes an electrifying and eclectic mix of performances on the outside stage. Miyako Taiko brings the thunderous power and precision of Japanese Taiko. Cultura Plenera shares Puerto Rico’s rich musical heritage. Bumbada share the power and community of women’s drumming. The Farafina Kan Junior Company showcases an upcoming generation of our region’s excellence in Mande inspired percussion. The Bele Bele Collective closes the afternoon with their infectious jams. Also outside, you will find over 2 dozen vendors selling great food, jewelry, drums, and more. An open drum circle will be jamming all day. The People's Playground invites everyone to share their rhythm talents and be recognized with gifts. A Children’s Corner features activities and crafts for the little ones. (Childcare not provided) The afternoon inside stage opens with a “desert eclectic serenade” with Mosno, followed by the powerful Black American Indian songs and chants of 3 Generationz. Virtuoso Arabic drumming follows with a set by Grammy nominated Souhail Kaspar. Next up are Dance Alchemy and their deeply spiritual offerings. Award winning percussionist Tom Teasley concludes the afternoon with a world percussion set. Also inside, workshops will be offered by Daveed Korup, Menes Yahudah, Jaqui MacMillan, Jason Walker, Tom Teasley, Jihan Von Hendricks, Nilimma Devi, and Baile McKnight. The Evening Concert brings together three performances including Baltimore’s beloved Sankofa Dance Theater as well as Amadou Kouyate who will weave magical soundscapes with the Kora,the multistringed harp-lute of the West African Griots. Completing the evening Bomani Armah and Immaletchufinish share hiphop’s infectious grooves and creative social commentary. The Evening Concert begins at 7:30. Tickets are $20, $10 for students & seniors, and are available in advance at Brown Paper Tickets. The Festival is partially made possible by support of the following: This event is supported in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council -- on the web at msac.org; Free Fall Baltimore, a program of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts made possible by presenting sponsor BGE, with generous support from The Abell Foundation, Atapco Properties, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation; and the Macht Family Foundation, along with dozens of individual contributors.