News
Performers of the festival revealed
30.04.2009
Viljandi Folk Music Festival revealed this year's performers and started selling day passes. In addition to several widely loved and unexpected performances from Estonian musicians, the festival on 23-26 July also features performances from musicians from India, Brazil, Europe, and Russia.
A total of 30 Estonian and 13 foreign performers will participate in XVII Viljandi Folk Music Festival the theme of which is "Solo!". Due to its theme, the instrumental mastery of the musicians was also taken into account when choosing the performers.
According to the Program Manager Tarmo Noormaa, several different Estonian artists will come together on stage to perform only once at the festival. "Andres Mustonen together with Maarja Nuut and Taavo Remmel will perform a programme which is based on lore. I would also like to point out that Tiit Kikas will be using a laser zither in his performance and the folk-rock boys from Zetod have joined their creative forces with Lenna Kuurmaa."
The audience will also meet their old favourites Vägilased, Untsakad, Väikeste Lõõtspillide Ühing, Svjata Vatra, Triskele and Oort. Similarly, newcomers at the music scene like the folk-fusion group Paabel, Atlas which plays Armenian folk music, a group called Klapp, etc. will give a concert.
Most of the foreign performers come from Europe, but there will also be musicians from India and North and South America. "A citar player and a tabla player from India will give an oriental air to the festival. In addition to that, a charming Brasilian girl band called Clã Brazil will introduce the musical tradition of their country," said Tarmo Noormaa. "Furthermore, the performance by the spiritual leader of the Indian tribe Tohono o'odham from Arizona, Rupert Encinas whose Indian name is Ba´ag Da or the Flying Eagle and who plays ceremonial songs will definitely be an experience in itself."
In addition to the names already mentioned, Ellika & Solo which consists of musicians from Sweden and Senegal, the balalaika virtuoso Aleksei Arkhipovsky from Russia, throat singer Andrei Mongush from Tuva, J. Karjalainen from Finland with a American-Finnish folk song programme, Blima from Spain who specialises in Asturian folk music, Alpine Ramblas from Austria, bagpipe players Stefan Timmermans and Bart de Cock from Flandria, Petter Berndalen from Sweden who plays melodies on drums, ZEF from France and the itinerant musicians of Ethno in Transit who have performed in Estonia before will perform in Viljandi on 23-26 July.
Day passes for Viljandi Folk Music Festival cost 180-390 kroons and are available at Piletilevi. It is possible to buy festival passes on www.folk.ee/festival which until the end of May cost 790 kroons.
The programme of the festival and additional information about the tickets available at www.folk.ee/festival