It’s time to make plans for Festival International. Five days of music from over 25 different countries and regions exchanging music, food and culture April 22 to 26th.
The party kicks off on Wednesday night, April 22, with a local flair. Swamp-pop legend Warren Storm will get things started with Yvette Landry & the Jukes, followed by Zydeco staple Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie.
Thursday night, April 23, will feature headliners Radio Radio, the well-known Acadian rap group who are on their finale tour. Pan-Latin American progressive band, Dos Santos, also performs Thursday, and French, swamp-blues trio Delgres will deliver its first of two appearances this Festival.
Locally honed, international touring band, Brother Dege & The Brethren, will represent Louisiana artists on Opening Night, along with a specially curated performance tribute called, “Pianorama: To Allen, Mac and Art, with Love.” The tribute will feature Marcia Ball, Ivan Neville, John “Papa” Gros, and David Torkanowsky — four piano legends who will come together to honor our fallen heroes.
Festival’s Friday night schedule is packed with ascending Palestinian-Jordanian “sham-step” band 47SOUL, Five Alarm Funk bringing the heat from British Columbia and Lafayette-based Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas. West African and dub-inspired American band, The Hip Abduction, also hits the stage Friday night, as does multi-national group, Nomadic Massive, and Jamaican reggae masters, The Meditations.
Festival is always family-friendly, so be sure to visit our children’s area, Service Chevrolet Cadillac Scène des Jeunes, on Saturday to catch the Burke Riley Cajun Quintet, a band of prodigies led by Burke Riley, who follows in his father Steve Riley’s footsteps.
Saturday night features Montréal-based Moroccan music group, Ayrad, Haitian rhythm-driven group RAM bring their traditional melodies to the stages, as well as the Guinean group, Natu Camara. Australian folk-rock band, The Waifs, return to Festivals stages by popular demand, and Louisiana delta-rockin’ blues guitarist Tab Benoit will also play Saturday. If you missed these bands the first time around, there’s a chance at redemption — you can also see acts like The Meditations, Nomadic Massive and 47SOUL on Saturday night.
Sunday will feature Leyla McCalla, who is a Louisiana based and Haitian-inspired artist, as well as Sudanese heavy-hitter Sinkane. Cimafunk, is currently the hottest Cuban touring artist, and his only performance will close out Festival on Sunday night. Cimafunk hits with high-energy, gritty funk-soul in the tradition of James Brown or vintage, Southern-soul cuts, but with his own Afro-Cuban, poly-rhythmic identity and flair. Cimafunk made a splash last week with the release of his appearance on National Public Radio’s popular “Tiny Desk” concert series.
As always, Festival International remains true to showcasing Francophone (French-speaking) musicians in 2020. A few of the en Français performances to catch include: Les Filles des Illighadad, the only known female-led Tuareg guitar group; Acadian artists Dave Puhacz, Jacques Surette, Chloé Breault and Spoutnique; and Haitian band Lakou Mizik, who are fresh from a carnivale appearance in New Orleans with Arcade Fire.
Festival is also proud to broaden its scope in welcoming artists who represent additional countries and cultures, including showcasing a variety of Latin groups like La Raíz, of Puerto Rico, Brazilian-influenced Franciso El Hombre, and Southwestern band, Lone Piñon.
