Global sound around town

The Lotus Fest isn’t the only place in Bloomington to hear international music.
Although Bloomington is the home of this annual world music extravaganza, international music can be heard around town year-round.

Without a landmark devoted entirely to international music, however, small restaurants and coffee shops become the major venues of Bloomington’s world music scene.

The Runcible Spoon hosts free, traditional flute-and-fiddle Irish music each Tuesday and Friday. The Spoon has become a hub for international artists, co-owner and chef Matt O’Neill said. Featuring acts such as the Silk Road Ensemble, Irish flute player Grey Larson, Turkish accordionists and what O’Neill termed “mountain music,” the chef believes the diversity in Bloomington is what’s actually influenced the diversity of music at the Spoon.

“We attract a lot of international students; they make up most of our regulars,” he said. “We try to be a welcome spot for them, whether they’re having a glass of water or a whole meal.”

But O’Neill says he’s not trying to create the international atmosphere – it just happens.

“This place is a way of life,” he said. “We have a lot of creative clientele, so I just let the culture develop.”

Café Django, named after French jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, is a restaurant at Sixth and Grant streets that hosts occasional international acts. However, owner Kunyang Norbu stressed that international music is not the cafe’s main draw, unless it’s international jazz.

“I did have an 8-piece African band one time, but we’re known for jazz,” Norbu said.

Students interested in getting involved in an offbeat international act on campus can check out the African Music and Dance Ensemble, which was started by graduate student Kwesi Brown in 2006, and is sponsored jointly by the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and IU’s African Studies Outreach Program. Drawing from Brown’s knowledge of West African percussion and dancing, the group gives students an opportunity to discover, and even perform to, music they might have never encountered before.

“The reason for this project is just to expose people to West African music and things they may not be familiar with,” Brown said.

Brown said that, for him, the greatest part of being involved in the ensemble is simply teaching students and introducing them to the musical culture of West Africa.

“The best part is being able to share my culture with other people,” Brown said.

Information spotlight

What: Irish music
sessions
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 and Tuesday, Oct. 7
Where: Runcible Spoon


What: African Music and Dance Ensemble open dancing
When: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3
Where: Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center

For more international music in Bloomington, see idsnews.com/weekend