Summer Night of Lotus to feature world music

Three different groups, three different cultures, one single concert.

The Lotus Education and Arts Foundation sets out each year to put on a public event that will generate excitement about world music and preview the annual fall Lotus World Music and Arts Festival.

This year’s Summer Night of Lotus, which will take place 7 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, will feature the music of local singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer, world-renowned sarod player Amjad Ali Khan and sons and tango ensemble Tangamente.

Tickets for the event are $20 and may be purchased online or at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Box Office on Kirkwood Avenue.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation.

Momentum for this year’s lineup began to build when Lotus Executive Director Lee Williams spoke with Newcomer about her trip to India in summer 2009. While touring the country, Newcomer met Khan and his family at one of her concerts.

After hitting it off, they agreed that if they were ever in the U.S., the Khans would try to visit Newcomer.

As things began to come together for the Summer Night of Lotus, the Khans agreed to take part, playing a set with Newcomer at the event.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to have Amjad Ali Khan,” Williams said. “He’s probably the most famous living player of the sarod in the world, and we feel honored to present someone like him.”

In addition to the international collaboration presented by Newcomer and the Khans, the Summer Night of Lotus will also feature tango ensemble Tangamente, led by musical composer, pianist and anthropologist Alfredo Minetti.

Tangamente is best known in Bloomington for its Zero Hour Tango Fest, a two-day festival in March that incorporated music, poetry, singing and dance.

Tangamente will open the concert, followed by Newcomer and the Khans.
Minetti, Newcomber and Khan will also take part in a free public event from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Monroe County Public Library called “Music and Spirit Without Borders.”

This event will run as a roundtable discussion on cross-cultural collaborations in music, leading into the performances on Friday.

In conjunction with the three musical performances, the Summer Night of Lotus will feature the release of this year’s Lotus Festival T-shirt and pin, designed by Bloomington artist Joel Washington.

The long-awaited lineup for the fall Lotus World Music and Arts Festival will also be released.

“The Summer Night is about getting people excited about what’s on stage, then looking forward to the lineup for the fall,” Williams said.