Hip-hop DJ Grandmaster Flash, master of the turntable and pioneer of hip-hop, will be performing at this year’s Richmond Folk Festival.
He’s just one of the many final performers announced for the Richmond Folk Festival, including Brazilian tap dancer Leonardo Sandoval and big band free jazz ensemble Sun Ra Arkestra.
Forty musical groups in all will be performing at this year’s festival. Eight represent styles of music that have never been performed at the festival, such as Jewish cantorial music, Ethiojazz and qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music that is popular in South Asia.
“Our festival is a multicultural experience like no other,” said festival director Lisa Sims. “We’re so proud to bring performers that most Richmonders may never have seen or even heard of before.”
Bolivian culture and traditions also will be highlighted in the Virginia Folklife Program. According to organizers, Virginia is home to the largest Bolivian-born population in the country.
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Be sure to stick around Saturday night for the Tinku dance group Fraternidad Cultural Pachamama. After their performance, more than 100 Bolivian dancers will disembark from the Folklife Stage and parade through the festival to the Altria Main Stage.
“This is truly going to be a dazzling spectacle and unprecedented for us,” Sims said.
In addition to the free performances at the three-day festival Oct. 9-11, many of the performers will visit public schools the week before the festival.
Here’s more on the final list of performers:
Ahava Raba (klezmer and cantorial): Cantor Yaakov “Yanky” Lemmer is one of the most in-demand cantors in Jewish music. “He is going to blow people away,” Sims said. The group, which also features Michael Winograd and other leading klezmer artists in the younger generation of New York City's Jewish community, performs sacred and celebratory Jewish music. Because of religious observance, Ahava Raba performances will feature Lemmer on Sunday only.
Amargue Bachata Quintet with Andre Veloz (Dominican bachata): Andre Veloz is a powerful female voice in what has traditionally been a male-dominated genre of guitar-driven Dominican bachata, a style of music that mines heartbreak and pain.
Cambodian American Heritage Dance Troupe (traditional Cambodian music and dance): The ancient art form of Khmer features ornately dressed dancers who perform highly controlled, stylized movements. The dance is accompanied by a small orchestra of tuned gongs and instruments such as drums, xylophones and oboes. Master artist Madame Tes, who was raised on the Cambodian Royal Palace grounds, is organizing an ensemble of five master dancers and four master musicians, plus an additional 16 musicians, dancers and singers for the Folk Festival performance.
DJ Grandmaster Flash (hip-hop): DJ Grandmaster Flash created many of the DJ techniques still used today, like the backspin technique and punch phrasing, as well as perfecting the art of scratching. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were the first hip-hop artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2007. “Grandmaster Flash’s live shows take audiences back to the energy that made hip-hop such a force when DJs first started mixing records,” Sims said. “At this year’s festival, Flash is going to put on a show that will have audiences of all ages on their feet — smiling, dancing and having a great time.”
Dudley Laufman & His Barn Dance Band (New England barn dances and contra dance): Laufman has been called the “Johnny Appleseed” of contra dance, a lively social dance where he “calls” listeners to dance to the music. Dudley will be joined by his wife, Jacqueline, on fiddle, plus Sue Read on piano, TJ Crow on mandolin, and Bill Wellington on fiddle and banjo.
Feedel Band (Ethiojazz): The Feedel Band is at the forefront of the Washington, D.C., Ethiopian music scene. After playing with major stars from the golden age of Ethiojazz, one of Ethiopia's defining musical sounds in the 20th century, Feedel Band is bringing these classic sounds to Ethiopians in the nation's capital and beyond.
Leonardo Sandoval (tap): A 26-year-old tap dancer and native of Brazil, Sandoval has been praised for his Brazilian-infused style of tap dancing. Sims described him as a “rising star of tap who has taken the dance world by storm. This is an instance of RFF catching an artist on his way up, up, up!”
Oneida Nation Social & Smoke Dancers (Haudenosaunee song and dance): The Oneida Nation Social & Smoke Dancers are a group of young dancers from the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. The Oneida were one of the five founding nations of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. This troupe will perform a variety of traditional dances from across Iroquois culture, including the “Smoke Dance,” an impressive social dance from which the group derives its name.
Reverend John Wilkins (blues and gospel): Wilkins’ music blends Memphis soul with North Mississippi country blues. Wilkins serves as pastor of the King Riders Motorcycle Club, where he is known as “the biker’s preacher.”
Riyaaz Qawwali (South Asian qawwali): A form of Sufi devotional music, qawwali consists of sung poetry with verses that explore the meaning of divine love. Singers engage in call and response, along with clapping and hand drumming. Based in Texas, members of Riyaaz Qawwali hail from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Sleepy LaBeef (rockabilly): A larger-than-life, first-generation rockabilly star from Smackover, Ark., LaBeef has a booming baritone voice, and his set is expected to be rousing.
Sun Ra Arkestra (big band free jazz): Free jazz pioneer Sun Ra died in 1993, but the Sun Ra Arkestra continues to perform a wide range of styles, from big band, ragtime and swing to bebop, hard bop and free jazz.
The Harris Brothers (Appalachian blues): The Harris Brothers draw from Appalachian bluegrass and old-time, as well as country, jazz and rock.
The Virginia Luthiers (Southwest Virginia): The Virginia Luthiers are masters of Appalachian music with Wayne Henderson on guitar, Jimmy Edmonds on fiddle, Gerald Anderson on bass and Spencer Strickland on mandolin.
Zedashe (Georgian polyphonic chants, songs and dances): From the Republic of Georgia, formerly under Russian and Soviet control, the nine-member ensemble Zedashe performs traditional Georgian chants, songs and dances.