When an organization produces an annual event known to attract thousands and thousands of music and art fans to Bloomington every September, it’s easy to forget that the very same organization is a non-profit with just five folks on staff and a very limited budget. We...
Unwind and restore with a unique yoga experience after an exciting Festival weekend. This is Lotus’s third year offering weekend yoga and in honor of the 25thanniversary Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, yoga offerings will be expanded to two days, on Saturday...
Blockhouse Studios will be presenting a one of a kind display during the Lotus festival. The exhibit will be revealed on the Monroe County Courthouse, once the sun goes down. This will be a unique focal point of the festival, as it will use the architecture of the...
Big Tent Multimedia Experience is one of several featured 25th Anniversary Spectacles planned for the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival. The Big Tent installation incorporates 360° video and audio projection, leveraging immersive technology to create a communal...
The final sneak peek is one that I have a special attachment to. I've been a fan of the English quartet Spiro for many years (they've been around for as long as Lotus), but have been frustrated that they have never toured the U.S. So one of my goals in working with...
Named after the river that flows between Colombia and Ecuador, this Afro-Pacific ensemble starts with the marimba at its center, and flows with centuries of musical influence, like its namesake. Much has been made of Afro-Colombian music the past few years... now...
As soon as the trio Haas Kowert Tice announced that they had expanded into a quartet and were calling themselves Hawktail, we asked if they were available for Lotus. Now they've released a debut album, and, just last weekend, appeared on Chris Thile's national live...
About 10 years ago, someone tipped me to a great music documentary about the roots music movement in Istanbul called "Crossing the Bridge." I found the DVD and screened it one summer night with my family. The film is a fantastic musical journey, and the standout scene...
Where to start? How about by fulfilling an essential requirement for any world music festival with an outdoor stage: a high-energy dance band, ideally from one of the music capitals of the African continent. Kinshasa has always been a melting pot of great music, known...