The
Global Music Festival 2005 is fast
approaching and concerts are in the
works in Australia, Austria, Brazil,
Burkina Faso, Canada, Costa Rica,
Czech Republic, Denmark, England,
Germany, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Poland,
Romania, Scotland, Switzerland, Thailand,
United States, Uganda, Wales, and
Zimbabwe. The response from artists
and volunteers has been great and
many new musicians have joined us!
This year's events will focus on education
for youth affected by HIV/AIDS, extreme
poverty, and natural disasters. For
our Beat the Wave tsunami-relief project,
donations will go to Save the Children,
and for our Give A Child A Chance
project, funds will go to Outside
the Dream (paying school expenses
for HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda and
India) and Liberation Through Education
(providing education for children
in Haiti). For more info see www.savethechildren.org,
www.outsidethedream.org,
and www.liberationthrougheducation.org.
In
addition, we have created an exciting
new project--Drumming in One World
Beat--which will unite the world in
one hour of drumming on March 19th-20th,
from 5-6pm EST-USA. For more on this
see
the Event page...
We are currently talking to the UK-based
organization, MediaTrust.org, about
making a film featuring One World
Beat and its great volunteer efforts.
Our worldwide project has grown incredibly
through the dedicated work of coordinators
and artists around the globe, and
capturing this on film will allow
us to approach international TV networks
and music stations to spread our message
of music making a difference. An OWB
compilation CD is also being discussed
(with sales to benefit our designated
charities), and our first OWB Radio
show will be appearing soon, featuring
interviews and music from the many
talented and caring performers who
have signed up for the festival.
GLOBAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2005
We have a number of musicians and
partners returning for a second or
third year: Thirst, Amy Antin, Miss
Behavin', and the String Art Band
in Germany; Concerts4Charity, World
Talent Quest, Northern Michigan University
students, and Hamptons Entertainment
Group in the USA; England's youngest
rock band, Dilemma, and the Boxford
Fleece Jazz Club in the UK; Soridema
in Brazil; Association Neekre in Burkina
Faso; Soi Dog Blues Band and other
artists at Tokyo Joe's in Thailand;
Hard Rock Cafe in the USA and the
Netherlands; a celebration of the
environment by the Anaconda Foundation
in Romania; Era Jazzu and its world-class
jazz artists in Poland; Bobbi Lee
Justice and the Scepters in Canada.
And new events and artists too: oneVillage
Foundation is planning drumming events
in the USA, Ghana, Taiwan, and Burkina
Faso; first-time events in Costa Rica
(an arts and music festival) and Denmark;
a two-day "Better Treatment,
Better Life" program in India;
a Nigerian line-up featuring Born
Talented Youth hip-hop musicians;
a kick-off concert for the founding
of OWB Zimbabwe; in Amsterdam, a drumming
event featuring youth from UNOY (United
Network of Young Peacebuilders); a
double-digit line-up of bands in New
York (including a possible appearance
by the head of the Outside the Dream
Foundation, photographer Stephen Shames,
who has worked for "Keep A Child
Alive"); an album launch party
for "ALLEZ!", the new release
by Afro-Beat band, Zuba, in Scotland.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
include OWB "12-365" (so
musicians can donate gigs anytime),
collaboration with schools to get
the next generation involved, a DVD
production, OWB branches and offices
in other countries (USA and UK are
in process), and more partnerships
with a wide range of organizations,
businesses, artists, and supporters.
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