The country and blues themed opening will be the first of six concerts during the 28th edition of the festival, which was ranked this year as one of the 25 best international world music festivals by British music magazine Songlines.
Despite being hit by cuts in public funding and a lack of sponsor interest, the organisers of Druga godba have promised an appealing line-up worthy of one of Slovenia's most respected and popular music festivals. The top draws are expected to be Columbian musician Quantic featuring British soul diva Alice Russel in Kino Šiška theatre on 10 May and Portuguese giants Madredeus in Cankarjev dom arts centre on 12 May.
The festival will see a 10-day hiatus after that in a show of support for the Cerkno Jazz Festival before returning on 22 May with a premiere of a documentary dedicated to Finnish experimental accordionist Kimmi Pohjonen in Kino Šiška. The traditional African evening will follow two days later, featuring Tanzanian dance attraction Jagwa Music and Honduran singer and guitarist Aurelio Martinez with the Garifuna Soul Band. The closing day will see a packed programme, starting with a morning workshop for children and an afternoon performance by Slovenian voice experimentalist Irena Tomažin. The final evening will have an oriental feel thanks to Turkish guitar-kamanche duo Erkan Ogun and Derya Türkan.
SOURCE: The Slovenia Times
