The Galle Music Festival 2012 plans to light up the stage at the Samanala Grounds in Galle this weekend, March 3 and 4. 

 

The festival; a sister event of the successful of Jaffna Music Festival held last year will bring together a variety of folk artistes from all corners of the country as well as foreign folk artistes

 

Organizers of the festival have decided to introduce contemporary music to this year’s lineup in order to add more variety and engage musicians and artistes from different cultural backgrounds. 

 

The local folk artistes will include the likes of - 

 

Sanni Yakuma from Paravuhera 

 

One of the most dramatic forms of dance occurs in exorcism healing rituals called tovil, thovil, toile, yakuma, yakun-natima and yakun-natanava and have been greatly influenced by Buddhism. The Daha Ata Sanniya is a traditional dance ritual that combines mythical exorcism of 18 types of diseases from the human body, employing deft psychological manipulation. 

 

Kolam from Mirissa

 

Kolam is a dramatic and colourful performance which has existed from 5th century B.C and is a ritual 'which involves mass participation.’ This particular kind of dance drama is not found in any other part of the world and is now conducted by very few groups. 

 

Rookada from Ambalangoda

 

G. Premin of Ambalangoda and his team of ten are part of the Saranga String Puppetries. Premin's productions, such as 'Ehelapola' and 'Sri Wickrama' forge a new path for puppetry while drawing on the knowledge and influence passed to him by his father and grandfather. 

 

Kaffer Manja from Sirambi Adiya

 

Established in 1980, the Kaffer Manja has performed on open stages and at hotels island-wide. The group consists of 12 members who are between the ages of 23 – 60 years. The Sri Lankan Kaffirs are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka who can trace some of their ancestry back to the 16th century.

 

Vasanthan Koothu from Kadduwan 

 

Dating two hundred years back, Vasanthan Koothu is a popular form of the traditional Tamil performance of Koothu and is connected to the Veerapathirar worship, which originated in a village named Kadduvan in the northern part of Jaffna.

 

Vaasappu from Mannar 

 

This tradition dates back to the Catholic missionaries from the Portuguese rule in Sri Lanka and is found in religious hymns and dramatic instruction for the edification of devotees.

 

Aadivaasin from Dambana 

 

Sri Lanka’s indigenous inhabitants, the Adivasi (forest-dwellers) as they call themselves, are a small group of people living in the centre of the country. Ritual ceremonies especially possession rites - that include dancing, chanting, instrumental music making and the construction of temporary shrines, provide some of the principal occasions for Adivasi artistic expression. Their lullaby is said to be the oldest known lullaby of the world.

 

Local contemporary artistes performing at the festival include:

 

Sangeeth Bhawana - This is one of the country’s most successful urban folk groups, using both local and international instruments and has toured in Austria, Thailand and India. 

 

Evolution- Choir of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts is a mixed choir of 27 choristers from the Western Department of the university and is directed by Natalie Gooneratne.

 

Centegradz have more than 10 years experience in delivering the finest blend in Sri Lankan RnB and pop music. 

 

K-Roe are a popular local band that has a passionate and energetic all-round music style that draws the crowd to their concerts. 

 

Ravibandu Vidyapathi Drum Ensemble is lead by acclaimed Sri Lankan drummer, dancer and choreographer Ravibandu Vidyapathi. Ravibandu was trained from childhood in traditional Sri Lankan dance forms by the gurus Chitrasena & Vajira and later travelled to India to the Kerala Kala Mandalam, where he received a rigorous formal training in the Kathakali dance form.

 

BnS with Ashanthi, Umariya, and Randheer -  Bathiya and Santhush are celebrated and revered as the kings of modern Sri Lankan music. The duo is currently Sri Lanka’s most accomplished and high profile pop music act. 

 

 

International groups:

 

Chhayanaut Baouls is a renowned group of musicians from Bangladesh who promote Bengali culture. The group began as an organization in 1961 at a very difficult time to promote and nurture Bengali culture which led them to promote Bengali musical traditions.

 

Raghu Dixit Project is one of India’s foremost bands that has fast become a popular name in the burgeoning Indian independent music scene.  Raghu lends a towering voice to traditional Indian folk music, which is subtly infused with Western Rock, Arabic, Latino and Reggae textures and rhythms.

 

Sabreen, a Palestine music group focuses on live and public performances, networking with musicians, public productions and music in schools in the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. 

 

Litjtausa from Norway has two very energetic fiddlers Marie Forr Klåpbakken and Julie Alapnes Normann. In the last few years, the two fiddlers have had countless assignments in Norway as well as abroad.

 

The Galle Music Festival is brought to you by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, USAID, Concerts Norway, Sewalanka, Aru Sri Art Theatre. Entrance is free to all events.