New York (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - This summer, The 7th Annual Sol Harvest Festivus for the Restivus (July 17-19, 2009) in Cabot, Vermont will host danceable roots acts from all over the world.
Roots band Midnite, from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, kick off the festivities Friday night, July 17th, at 8 p.m. sharp. After that, the Malian Wassoulou musician Oumou Sangare', "the songbird of Mali," will perform. Sangare', a winner of the 2001 UNESCO Music Prize who has performed at venues worldwide including the Melbourne Opera, Denmark's Roskilde Festival, Morocco's Festival d'Essaouira and Brussels' Ope'ra de la Monnaie, is rarely seen in the US.
Toubab Krewe of Asheville, North Carolina headline both nights with their "distinctive, remarkable fusion" (Billboard) of West African music with American rock. Reggae guitar maestro Earl "Chinna" Smith, who comes to the festival by way of Kingston, Jamaica, will be Toubab Krewe's special guest on Friday, and Mali's Lamine Soumano and Vermont-based traditional West African performance ensemble Jeh Kulu will also appear.
Saturday night (July 18) will also feature performances by Jamaican reggae legend Barrington Levy and NYC's old-school hip-hop duo Black Sheep, Saturday festivalgoers will also see the Fela Kuti tribute ensemble Movement of the People, Burlington's 'Hip-Pop' ensemble Strength in Numbers, Boubakar Diabate' of Bamako, Mali and Montpelier's Sara Grace & The Suits, as well as an all-star jam and a Saturday night afterparty featuring Ann Arbor, Michigan's electro-pop outfit My Dear Disco, J. Holla, Relolon, D.J. Patrick B. and many more.
Sunday will feature the "Dillafied gangsta reggae soul jazz hop Funkin'rock'nRoll" of Boston's Jazz Criminals.
The Festivus, called "The Manifestivus" this year to honor its expansion to two nights, is held on 93 acres of gently rolling hillside meadow surrounded by forest, just six hours north of New York City and three hours from Boston or Montreal.
Listen to music by the featured artists on The Manifestivus Mixtape, available for streaming on Blip.fm: https://www.blip.fm/TheManifestivus
Track List:
1. Oumou Sangare': "Baba" ('Worotan' 1996)
2. Barrington Levy: "Under Mi Sensi" ('Here I Come' 1985)
3. Toubab Krewe: "Buncombe To Badala" ('Live At The Orange Peel' 2009)
4. Earl "Chinna" Smith: "Home Grown" ('Inna de Yard' 2004)
5. Black Sheep: "The Choice Is Yours" ('A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing' 1994)
6. Midnite: "Banking In The Pig" ('Ras Mek Peace' 1999)
7. Toubab Krewe: "Hang Tan" ('Toubab Krewe' 2006)
8. My Dear Disco: "White Lies" ('DanceThink' 2009)
Pre-sale weekend tickets are available now for just $65 for a limited time, as are VIP packages and single-night tickets, available at the Manifestivus website: https://www.manifestivus.com/
The family-friendly event offers on-site camping, medical facilities and security, a VIP lounge, and vendors of authentic African and Ital food and local arts and crafts. Hiking trails wind through beaver ponds, marsh and woodland forest, and a large swimming pond. The 200 children attending in 2008 had their own safe play area with body paint and a bouncy house. This year they'll also have a puppet theater and a little people's water slide. An energy-saving sound system and LED lights use only a fraction of the power used at most festivals.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Sabu School in Conakry, Guinea, a children's school for Sierra Leone refugees, and will also go to supporting Toubab Krewe's teachers, their families, and the musical traditions of West Africa and beyond. "The Manifestivus" Lineup Fri. July 17, 2009 Toubab Krewe Oumou Sangare' Midnite Sat. July 18, 2009 Toubab Krewe Barrington Levy Black Sheep Special guest Earl "Chinna" Smith
Featuring:
Lamine Soumano
Strength In Numbers
Movement of the People: Fela Kuti Tribute Ensemble
Boubakar Diabate'
Sara Grace & The Suits
Jeh Kulu
Puppet Theater
Yoga In The Woods
African Drum & Dance Workshop
After Party:
My Dear Disco
J. Holla
Relolon
D.J. Patrick B.
Sun. July 19, 2009 Jazz Criminals
More about Festivus:
https://www.myspace.com/thefestivusfortherestivus
https://www.shorefire.com/clients/themanifestivus/
More about the featured artists:
Toubab Krewe
https://www.myspace.com/toubabkrewe
Oumou Sangare'
https://www.myspace.com/oumousangare
Midnite
https://www.myspace.com/midnitevi
Barrington Levy
https://www.barringtonlevy.net
Black Sheep
https://www.myspace.com/blacksheep
Earl "Chinna" Smith
https://www.chinnasmithmusic.com/
Jazz Criminals
https://www.myspace.com/jazzcriminals
My Dear Disco
https://www.myspace.com/mydeardisco
