Galle Music Festival 2012

The Galle Music Festival 2012 will showcase local and international folk and contemporary music groups from March 3 to the 4 at the Samanala Grounds, Galle.

The participating International Groups:

Chhayanaut Baouls - Musicians from Bangladesh promoting Bengali culture with Nadira Begum (vocal), Chandana Roy (vocal), Md Maniruzzaman (flute), Ratan Kumar Roy (Dotara), Dasharath Dash (dhol) and Swarup Hossain (tabla). Chhayanaut 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 - One of India's foremost bands has fast become a shining beacon in the burgeoning Indian independent music scene with Indian folk music infused with Western Rock, Arabic, Latino and Reggae textures and rhythms.

A Palestine organization works with individuals and organizations from all artistic backgrounds and disciplines. They focus 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.

The musicians performing will be Charlie Rishmawi (multi-instrumentalist), John Robert Handal (percussionist), Joseph Duqmaq (saaxophonist/pianist) and Mohammad Abu Hamdah (Folklore Dabkeh and contemporary dance).

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.

Sangeeth Bhawana is one of Sri Lanka's most successful urban folk groups, using both local and international. The band had five members when it was formed in 1998, and now includes 10 members from a variety of folk music styles, fulfilling its original intention to create and preserve local folk music traditions for future generations.

Centigradz - With more than 10 years experience deliver the finest blend in Sri Lankan RnB and pop music. They have internationally and headlined many prestigious Music Festivals.

K-Roe - A popular local band that has a passionate and energetic all-round music style that draws the crowd to their concerts with their first song album released in 2011.

Ravibandu Vidyapathi Drum Ensemble - Lead by acclaimed Sri Lankan drummer, dancer and choreographer Ravibandu Vidyapathi who was trained from childhood in traditional Sri Lankan dance forms by the gurus Chitrasena & Vajira. The Ravibandu Vidyapathi Drum Ensemble has toured throughout the world, appearing at festivals such as WOMAD, and performed at the Kennedy Centre in 2008, to great acclaim.

BnS with Ashanthi, Umariya, and Randheer. Bathiya and Santhush are celebrated and revered as the kings of modern Sri Lankan music. Universal recording artists Bathiya and Santhush are currently Sri Lanka's most accomplished and high profile pop music act

Sanni Yakuma, Paravuhera - One of the most dramatic forms of dance occurs in exorcist healing rituals - called tovil, thovil, toile, yakuma, yakun-natima and yakun-natanava. These are folk traditions that have been greatly influenced by Buddhism.

Kolam, Mirissa - They are a dramatic and colourful performance which has existed from at least the 5th Century BC. It is a ritual ' which involves mass participation.

Rookada, Ambalangoda - G Premin of Ambalangoda and his team of ten are part of the Saranga String Puppetries. They have dedicated their whole lives to the promotion of puppetry and show zeal and commitment to their art.

Kaffer Manja- Sirambi Adiya was established in 1980 and they have performed on open stages and at hotels island-wide. The group consists of 12 members who are between 23 - 60 years old. The Sri Lankan Kaffirs (cafrinhas in Portuguese, kapiriyo in Sinhala, and kapili in Tamil) are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka who can trace some of their ancestry back to the 16th Century.

Kali Kambatam, Akkaraipattu - Members of the Tradition and Culture of Muslim Inducing Association TACOMIA live in Akkaraipattu, on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. The group is well known among the Muslim community for their distinctive style of performing music with sticks.

Vasanthan Koothu- Kadduwan is a two hundred year old 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.

Kovalan Koothu, Mullaitivu - This Koothu form has been very popular in the Mullaithivu district for the last seven generations. The legend associated with Kannaki and Kovalan provides the theme of this Koothu. Mathalam and Thalam are the instruments used in the background.

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

Aadivaasi, Dambana - Sri Lanka's indigenous inhabitants, the Adivasi or Wanniya-laeto (forest-dwellers) as they call themselves, are a small group of people living in the centre of Sri Lanka. The Adivasi, Wanniya-laeto is also known as Veddas, a Dravidian word meaning 'hunter'.