The second edition of the Worldstock festival, an event that aims to break the barriers of genres, started this week in Paris. The motto remains the same as last year’s successful inaugural edition: search for that universal je-ne-sais-quoi that somehow gives music from anywhere the possibility to touch anyone.
Until Dec. 13, artists from all over the world are set to perform exclusive shows at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, in the north of the French capital, in front of a culture-thirsty crowd.
The Worldstock festival lets you discover talented artists you won’t hear on your typical radio show. For instance, the event opened Tuesday with the the Dakh Daughters, a “freak cabaret” troupe, as they describe themselves, that mix theater, dance and music.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian musician Tony Allen came to present his new afrobeat album Film of Life, which was released last October. “Music is my mission,” he said. “The musical world is very spiritual and I don’t think it has an end. As musicians, it’s our mission to make it live on.”
Tonight, the jazz pianist and 2006 Thelonious Monk award recipient Tigran will bring the sounds of his home country, Armenia, combined with modern experimental music, to Parisian ears.
Later performances will include equally intriguing artists such as the Portuguese Lula Pena, the Belgian Melanie de Biasio, the Israeli Adnan Joubran or the British Hollie Cook.
