Rozstaje ethnic music festival kicks off

The 9th International Rozstaje Ethnic World-Music Festival begins on July 26.As every year, the festival will be a crossing of different musical styles and genres, ranging from traditional to experimental, borderline jazz, folk, rock and classical music inspired by traditional themes. This year’s bands are coming in large measure from Central and Eastern Europe: the Carpathian region, the Balkan Peninsula and the distant Yakutsk.Of this year’s Polish groups, “Kaszebe” comes highly recommended. Established by the well-known jazz musician Olo Walicki, the ensemble is regarded as a revolutionary entity of the Polish ethno-jazz scene.Joanna Slawinska is also performing with her band, which will be playing songs from their new album. Roma bard and poet Teresa Mirga will sing together with Kale Bala from Spisz. Among the many foreign musicians performing will be the Bulgarian duo Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov and Siberian Project Chyskyyrai with singers from Yakutsk, Valentina Romanova and Gendos. Concerts will be accompanied by numerous workshops, meetings and movie showcases.