Habib Koité kicks off Lotus Festival

Trills of approval from barefoot dancers and audience members filled the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre during every break in the music Wednesday night at the kick-off concert for the Eighth Annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. \nHabib Koité and his band Bamada switched flights, stayed in airports for hours and finally made it to Indiana in time to open the world music festival that is dancing on despite seven artist cancellations in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.\nParis Combo and the Gangbé Brass Band were set to send the music world spinning for Wednesday's special reduced-price show until they had to cancel because of travel complications. But judging from the cheers and energy from the audience Wednesday, Koité and Bamada more than filled in. \nBorn in a country where guitars are not easy to come by and going home at night means arriving to 17 brothers and sisters and a family of music, Koité represents the music and culture of Mali. He first touched the guitar as a young child and has not looked back since, touring the world and interpreting Malian music for the masses.\n"First I give an image of my country, of Mali," Koité said. \nHe said the music can communicate how Malian people feel to the audience. Donned in both traditional dress and sneakers, the band communicates its mixed modern and traditional style visually as well as through the music.\nTuning to a pentatonic scale and employing musical styles from all parts of his country, Koité is modern as well as traditional. Lyrically, his original music is a world picture on its own, with verses sung in multiple tribal languages, French and Spanish. Electric and traditional music seem to collide smoothly onstage and in the band's three albums.\n"The feeling to move between those notes is not the same for each culture," Koite said. \nAlthough single notes may be the same, the feeling comes from their construction.\n"Peaceful Impressions" set the stage for the evening. Three local artists combined two months of effort to create the backdrop for the Buskirk-Chumley stage, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., of the Lotus Fest. Another backdrop will be featured at Second Story Nightclub, 201 S. College Ave., during Lotus performances this weekend. \nPeace in the face of recent events may be hard to come by, but Koité and Bamada manager Michel de Bock said the group is glad Lotus was not cancelled.\n"It's too important to show everyone now we have to fight against war," de Bock says.\nAlso manager of the Gangbe Brass Band, de Bock was ready to help when he received a call from Lotus. He said he feels that festivals like this are especially important to raise awareness of world cultures.\nAnd Lotus might just be the place.\nHabib Koité is performing again at 8:45 p.m. Saturday, September 22 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.