New York, USA - GlobalFEST will take place this week. It is a one-night festival modeled after other popular music industry events that draw in players from the Performing Arts industry and the public at large. As part of the Arts Presenters Annual Conference, GlobalFEST will present short performances of sixteen artists from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas on three stages at The Public Theater including Joe's Pub over a six-hour period on Saturday, January 10, 2004. Performances will run from 8 p.m. to approximately 1:30 a.m., with a DJ party continuing until closing time at 4:00 a.m. All-night passes are available for $40 from Telecharge, 212-239-62001. Organizers hope to simultaneously reveal extraordinary performers to new ears at the fan level, while exposing concert presenters from around North America to the artists for consideration over the next few years.

Intended to be an annual event, GlobalFEST has struck an amazing balance in repertoire and performers, drawing on a broad definition of world music. , to the hip-hop/rumba beats of Cuban singer Raúl Paz , to some of the world's finest vocalists, including Portuguese fado star Mariza and Anglo/Indian singer Susheela Raman, audiences of all stripes are sure to find sounds suited to their tastes. Fans looking for roots music might take in Tania Libertad's provocative Peruvian landos and Mexican boleros, or the soulful Spanish flamenco of Diego Amador. Others may get uprooted and onto the dance floor with Brazilian global percussionist Cyro Baptista's Beat the Donkey or fall into a trance to Mercan Dede's Turkish Secret Tribe, with his special guest, the Tunisian singer Amina. If you want political songs, listen to the voice of South Africa's Vusi Mahlasela or the rhythms of Haiti's queen of song, Emeline Michel. For something that spans tradition and modern improvisation, take note of Greece's Savina Yannatou & Primavera en Salonico, France's Klezmer/Gypsy band Les Yeux Noirs, Lebanese ud (plucked lute)-player Marcel Khalife, Brazil's Forro in the Dark and Afropop singer Angélique Kidjo. And if that is not enough, stay out all night with New York's own DJ collective, GlobeSonic. The performances of several artists that were scheduled had to be cancelled. These include Brazil's DJ Dolores & Aparelhagem, Persian kamancheh (spike fiddle) player Kayhan Kalhor, Rajery from Madagascar, and flamenco performers Diego "El Cigala" and Diego El Morao.

Not only have GlobalFEST organizers focused on high quality performers and diversity of origin as criteria for artist selection, they have also sought artists appropriate for a variety of performing contexts: concert halls, cabaret settings, dancehalls, and festivals. And to ensure a strong audience and an original feel, they selected both established and emerging artists. "We were looking for some artists who would be fresh and lesser known even to those actively presenting world music regularly," explains Bill Bragin, director of Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, and one of three key players behind GlobalFEST. "And then some artists who have played on the established 'world music' circuit, but who are primed to move to more 'general interest' presenters... ready to move from the five-to-ten-market tours to thirty or forty markets. Also, we needed people with a commitment to touring North America. We are not merely doing this to have an incredible world music festival. We want the performances to lead into touring over the next few years, and to help expand the visibility of world music in general throughout the U.S. and Canada."

The other two initiators behind the GlobalFEST concept are Isabel Soffer, associate director of NYC's World Music Institute (WMI); and Maure Aronson, director of World Music, Inc., Boston, which has a similar mission to WMI. The ad hoc trio, who have been key in bringing world music performers to stages in America in recent years and are active in an emerging North American World Music Coalition, have created the event to be a part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (Arts Presenters) 47th Annual Members Conference, the most important booking event in North America. Arts Presenters is a national service and advocacy organization with more than 1,400 members worldwide dedicated to bringing artists and audiences together. Many of the organizers of America's performing arts centers and music festivals book much of their annual schedule as a result of showcases and contacts at Arts Presenters.

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy to the U.S. are the principal sponsor of GlobalFEST. With the participation of the French Music Export Office in New York at least five of the featured artists at GlobalFEST will be affiliated with French music labels. "The French Embassy's Cultural Services have participated in the Arts Presenters conference, the largest North American meeting for performing arts professionals, for several years," said Emmanuel Morlet, the director of the music department of the French Embassy. "In 2004, for the first time, Arts Presenters will celebrate world music by dedicating its opening night and a number of panels to the artists and professionals from this sector. We are proud to participate fully in the support of this event, which carries a much-needed message of cultural diversity." GlobalFEST is additionally made possible by the support of the participating artists, and their record labels and booking agencies.

Presenter tickets for Arts Presenters conference attendees are currently on-sale through the Arts Presenters; general public tickets are on sale through www.telecharge.com, 212.239.6200 or The Public Theater Box office. Artists and schedule are subject to change. To get an updated unofficial World Music Schedule, click on schedule. You can also download the map of the NYC venues that will be hosting world music showcases, concerts, and panels at the Arts Presenters conference. Click on map. For more information on GlobalFEST, click here. ; on The Public Theater, visit www.publictheater.org; and on this year's Arts Presenters Conference, held at the Hilton NY and Towers, NYC, visit www.artspresenters.org.

[Photo of Mariza].