What we learned from Season One of World Music Encounters
By John Burnett
What we learned in the first season of World Music Encounters at St. David’s—the city’s premiere stage for virtuosic musicians from around the globe—is that Austin has grown up. Time was when London Homesick Blues was the theme song of Austin City Limits, but we’re long past “I wanna go home with the Armadillo” (much as we love Gary P. Nunn).
As the nation’s 11th largest city and perennial Live Music Capital, Austin has become a mecca for international musicians. They’ve come here for the great players, the great audiences, the plethora of venues, and the laidback musical vibe. And St. David’s is spotlighting Austin’s often overlooked world music niche with our continuing concert series inside our beautiful 175-year-old church sanctuary in the heart of downtown.
What a journey it’s been!
When I retired last year as a longtime globetrotting correspondent for NPR, I wanted to find music that I’d heard on assignment around the world. And so we created this concert series to expose Austin audiences to the sumptuous universe of music that’s out there.
In our inaugural season, from September 2023 to May 2024, we featured rhythms and harmonies from Niger, Ghana, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, El Salvador, Egypt, Iran, Cuba, Morocco, India, Mexico and Ireland. (A couple of the bands were from out of town.) World Music Encounters turned into a roaring success. We had 200-plus crowds every night and we put as much of the proceeds as possible into musicians’ pockets. This is a nonprofit series, produced by volunteers and the church staff, and none of the money goes to St. David’s.
Season Two
- Sept. 22: A’lante Flamenco
- Austin’s own flamenco company, A’lante Flamenco, features the classically trained Cuban guitarist José Tejeda along with a trio of gifted dancers.
- Nov. 17: Abou Sylla and Bramaya.
- One of the greatest West African drummers in North America lives quietly in East Austin with his dance troupe, Bramaya, and travels around the country performing and teaching.
- Feb. 2: Javier Chaparro
- The brilliant, eclectic local violinist, Javier Chaparro, born in Peru, brings his band, Salud, to St. David’s.
- April 27
- WME presents a U.S. exclusive: three world-class Japanese traditional musicians will trek to Austin (from College Station where they’re participating in a Japanese traditional music festival) to perform on our stage. They’ll take the audience on a chronological journey from ancient Japanese music—played on the shakuhachi, koto and shamisen—and conclude with a swinging jazz trio.
The mission of WME is not just to entertain. Austin has the coolest, smartest audiences anywhere. We want to educate and enlighten folks about this music that might be unfamiliar to them. As such, the journalist in me gets up at intermission and interviews the band leaders about the origins of their music, their instruments and their journey to Austin.
Three examples: last January, Ibrahim Aminou had a talking drum under his arm as he explained how his grandfather used that instrument to communicate with neighboring villages in his homeland of Niger; Gabriel Santiago told us how the jazz guitar evolved in his home country of Brazil; and Austin’s phenomenal singer, songwriter and bodhran drummer Andrea Magee recounted her musical upbringing in Belfast, Ireland.
St. David’s is delighted, humbled and energized by the response to our concert series that now has a loyal following. Come be a part of it and expand your global musical IQ.
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