Respect Festival 2023 — A Celebration of Humanity
The Respect Festival is an annual two-day and evening musical and multicultural event, and this year kicks off with a ceremonial and meditative tone. Rangamatir Baul, led by Rina Das, from West Bengal, India, begins the outdoor gathering on Saturday afternoon, June 17 th . Rina Das is considered the “Queen” of Baul music and Baul music is called the “soul of Bengal” meaning it is needed to have a good society – it is not a religious music, but a spiritual music taught to the musicians by their gurus, and at its heart, the music is a celebration of humanity; it is said to be about “self-discovery,” so knowing yourself is the essence of Baul music. With or without the yoga mats, this could become a transcendental meditation experience for all. Headlining Saturday is Adedeji, delivering a healthy dose of Afrobeat, the trademark sound of Nigeria, in the tradition of the late Fela Kuti, though “he” lives on via his sons Femi and Seun. Afrobeat is a get-up-and-dance music bringing together West African traditional music and its rhythms with influences of jazz and soul, especially James Brown, plus a strong political punch. Another notable group on Saturday is Al Bilali Soudan from Timbuktu, Mali. This is...