Women's Golf

South Africa

By Thomas Miller · Wednesday, Sept. 23,2009 8:56 p.m.

For BLK JKS – pronounced “black jacks” – this year’s Lotus Fest is a homecoming away from home. The band hails from Johannesburg, but when it came time to record their Secretly Canadian debut last winter, they packed up their things and headed to Russian Recording in Bloomington.

Sweden

Wednesday, Sept. 23,2009 8:52 p.m.

Swedish instrumental folk trio Vasen will take the stage at Lotus Fest on Thursday, continuing what has become a tradition in Bloomington. Vasen’s fans half-jokingly proposed that a street in town be named for the band, leading them to title their newest album “Vasen Street.”

Mongolian folk comes to America

By Megan Clayton · Wednesday, Sept. 23,2009 8:50 p.m.

Before Hanggai formed in 2005, lead man Ilchi was bored with the music he was making. He’d been in a punk band for a few years, but just didn’t have the heart for that type of sound anymore.

Los de Abajo can’t be kept down

By Megan Clayton · Wednesday, Sept. 23,2009 8:48 p.m.

The founding members of Los de Abajo met nearly two decades ago when they were attending secondary school in Mexico City. In 1992 they played their first show together at the National Autonomous University of Mexico for the country’s Sept. 16 Independence Day celebration.“We began to play music as a friendly game, but now has become our way of life,” said singer and saxophonist Mauricio “Osito” Diaz. “We realized that we made ourselves feel good, and we can do the same for others.”

France

Wednesday, Sept. 23,2009 8:45 p.m.

It’s easy to classify the French quartet Watcha Clan as world music, but to founding member, chief songwriter and sampler Suprême Clem, that’s oversimplifying it. “World music is not a museum. It should be modernized so all generations can listen to it,” he said.

Local band, Mid-East inspiration

By Megan Clayton · Wednesday, Sept. 23,2009 8:40 p.m.

Salaam front woman Dena El Saffir was first exposed to Middle Eastern music as a child growing up in an Iraqi-American household outside Chicago. Trained in violin since the age of 6, El Saffir started to envision honing an Arabic sound as a teenager. Her group Salaam, which means “peace” in Arabic, was founded in 1993 while El Saffir was studying classical music at IU.The band is still based out of Bloomington and includes six other instrumentalists, including El Saffir’s brother Amir and her husband, Tim Moore. El Saffir said working with her family has only brought the band benefits.