World Music

Tinariwen - Crescent Ballroom - 4/22/2013

I couldn't understand a word Tinariwen were singing Monday night at Crescent Ballroom. I didn't know a single song, and there was no set list to cheat from -- and I couldn't find anyone to ask about it. But I was completely blown away by the deep, rhythmic, heartfelt pulse of a music that draws fr ... More >>

Tinariwen @ Crescent Ballroom

American Malaikat dan Singa Is Big in (and About) Indonesia

A famous series of ads for Rosetta Stone tells a fictional narrative about some Midwestern farmboy intensively learning Italian to get with an beautiful Italian woman. The pitch seems to be that learning a new language opens up new opportunities, and since it is advertising, the sexual opportunities ... More >>

Color Story

Jerusafunk Wants to Get You Wet This Friday at The Lost Leaf (Video)

Did you know that you can find "sexified Jewish folk funk" right here in Arizona? It's true. And you'll be able to experience the groovy rhythms of this funky take on traditional Klezmer music when Flagstaff's Jerusafunk stop by the Lost Leaf on Friday, January 20. We caught up with clarinetist ... More >>

Metallic Luster

Palace World Music Party Shows "Love For Southeast Asia"

Art by Japanese artist Aya Miyake​DJentrification's weekly Palace World Music night at Filmbar always features far out world music, but this weekend, it's got another goal as well. "I have been to South East Asia and feel very lucky for all the good people I met, for the records I was able to di ... More >>

Chico Mann's Global Sound Moves Feet

Apache Lake Music Festival, Blitzen Trapper, Chico Mann, and More in This Week's Issue

​ Get ready for our very own Coachella this weekend. Well -- not really. As Christina Caldwell's feature explains, Apache Lake Music Festival isn't quite the same thing as that fest, but it does feature over 30 of Arizona's best bands in a remote setting. We've also got shorter features on Blitzen ... More >>

Chico Mann of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra on Analog Drift

​There are always those albums that you miss. Analog Drift, by Chico Mann came out in 2010, but I didn't get it until last week. Which is a real shame, because it's a fantastic disc, featuring 12 tracks comprised of vintage hip-hop synths, Afrobeat shuffles, Latin vocals, and a Talking Heads cover ... More >>

What's Selling: Hoodlums Top 10 Selling Albums of the Week

Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We've got you covered with another installment of What's Selling. After taking most of 2010 off, Chicago indie-pop rockers Wilco are back strong with last week's The Whole Love release taking top h ... More >>

The Palace @ FilmBar

Five Japanese Bands For Your Heavy Rotation

Jonathan McNamaraHystoic Vein performs at the Japan Preview Day Show during SXSW 2011.​U.S. fans of Japanese Music face one, ever-present obstacle in their quests to discover new J bands: They're not here. Up on the Sun constantly monitors upcoming concerts from Japanese bands. In good years, that ... More >>

Chicago Afrobeat Project

Fishtank Ensemble

Born from the jammin' of a traveling show

Toumani Diabaté @ Musical Instrument Museum

Ride the White Horse

Boy, are they Hungary

Huun Huur Tu & Carmen Rizzo

Huun-Huur-Tu and Carmen Rizzo Bring An Ecclectic and Avant-Garde Mix To Scottsdale

​If you thought the newly opened Musical Instrument Museum was diverse in its selection of exotic instruments from around the world (where Nigerian hausa trumpets and a Burmese saung guak harp are housed in the same building as Eric Clapton's stratocasters), try checking out the multifaceted l ... More >>

Find the Wei

Chinese dancer wows audiences in Chandler

Ear and Now

See AZ’s youth rock out for a good cause

SxSW: Japan Nite and the Future of Japanese Music in America

Jonathan McNamaraJinnyOops! performing at Japan Nite 2010. See more shots in our Japan Nite slide show. ​The chances are fairly good that you have never heard of Japan Nite. Never mind the fact that this SxSW showcase has been going on for 15 years; the odds are you won't recognize any of the band ... More >>

Moment of Ren

Turkey legs and jousting are back

World Series

Band of Gypsies

Netherlands import plays “misbehaved village wedding” music

Joe DiPadova

Reggae Sundays

Miss-Behavin'

A flaming hottie and other sizzling chicks take over PHiX

Soweto Gospel Choir

Flier of the Week: The Human Mirror

By Martin Cizmar This week we're gonna get artsy with our Flier of the Week. Human Mirror is an electronic duo that uses a laptop, electronics, drums and more to make a sound that's very eclectic, but has strong strands of world music and dub. They're Phoenix based, but planning to play and recor ... More >>

Red Alert

Afro: Baile Records' Brazil: Sambossica CD Release Party at Maria Maria, Saturday, November 1

Culture for Hobos

You Asked for It: Yaaba Funk

Rusted Root

Podcast: My Feral Kin

All the Right Grooves

Drum and Dance troupe whips up an audio stew

Traveler

Phoenicia
(self-released)

Drivers Union Group

Por Por: Honk Horn Music of Ghana
(Smithsonian Folkways)

Fishtank Ensemble

Born from the jammin' of a traveling show

Second-Hand Perspective

Expanding the historical reach of traditional music

Homme Boys

Groovers and shakers get it on

They Like It Rough

And so does our brave writer, who dove headfirst into a never-ending series of fascinating world- music compilations

Mad Max

Metal dad Max Cavalera rocks the thrash scene – and his Phoenix neighborhood

Out of Africa

Catch the Kayaga! Dance Troupe as it makes its Western U.S. debut

Best Place To Buy Something For The Person Who Has Everything

Scottsdale Center for the Arts Museum Store

Less Is More

No longer an enfant terrible, composer Terry Riley continues to astound and amaze

Emerald Guile

Exploring a variety of the world's folk traditions with daring aplomb, the Chieftains continue to draw on a musical well that looks as if it may never run dry

POP GOES THE REVOLUTIONARYTHOMAS MAPFUMO PREPS FOR AN INVASION OF THE WEST