Global Fest
@Webster Hall
125 East 11th Street (between 3rd & 4th Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Telephone: {212} 353-1600
Website: www.websterhall.com
Making plans for a Sunday night can be hard. How about spending the night with a robust list of worldwide entertainers at Webster Hall? A couple of friends and I recently headed over to the iconic venue to attend Global Fest. We entered the first floor and immediately felt the vibrations echoing from the crowd as the first musical groups conquered the stage. We found seats upstairs in the balcony located on the third floor; the perfect bird’s-eye view. The presenters arrived and introduced each group and/or soloists and camera flashes repeatedly flickered. The only minor speed bump was juggling between all three floors of the venue to embrace all of the attendees.
The Global Fest roster included tunes from Mali, Iran, Turkey, Lo’Jo from France, and La Shica from Spain. The audience was transported to Zimbabwe with a delightful set from Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits, across the international borders to Canada with A Tribe called Red and back to the States with bands like La Santa Cecilia. Additional melodies from The Stooges Brass Band provided the crowd with a taste of New Orleans. Mucca Pazza’s cluster of band members dressed in old school costumes topped my personal favorites list of the night. Besides music, the night was filled with cheerleaders carrying bright enormous pom-poms, balloons floating in the air, bubbles, cartwheels, and headstands- you can’t make this stuff up, but its the definition of New York madness.
The music and artists at this event were an incredible force that brought lots of people together to share in one phenomenal experience. I enthusiastically anticipate repeating Global Fest in 2014.
By: Laura M. Artis.