US poet to perform at Bushfire
This May, Swaziland’s Bushfire Festival will play host to world-renowned US poet Coleman Barks for a performance of works written by 13th Century Sufi poet Rumi.
According to a press release, Rumi’s 800-year-old insights have not only influenced the festival venue’s House on Fire creatively, with his poems physically carved into the foundations, but also inform the festival’s ongoing mandate to encourage synergy and harmony in the region.
In his poem “One Song” – the chosen theme for this year’s Bushfire – Rumi reveals his relevance to Africa’s societal issues by what Barks describes as “pointing not to what divides us, but to what we share”:
“All religions, all this singing,
One song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight
Looks slightly different
On this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different
On this other one.”
Extract from “One Song” taken from “The Soul of Rumi”, translated by Coleman Barks.
The press release note that Barks’s international best-seller, The Essential Rumi, and numerous Rumi translations, have seen him become the foremost authority on the works of the mystic poet, reaching a devoted, inspired, and ever-widening international audience.
Now living in Athens, Georgia, Barks was born and raised in Tennessee and has taught poetry and creative writing for over 30 years at the University of Georgia. Through a new partnership and financial backing from the US Embassy, Bushfire has invited Barks to perform Rumi’s work at this year’s festival, which takes place from May 28 to 30 and also showcases a top line-up of live music, theatre, dance, film and interactive workshops.
“What we’re trying to do here at Bushfire Festival is create a melting pot for creativity -and Rumi’s broad appeal and spirituality speak across borders and boundaries, lifting one from a sense of worldliness,” says Bushfire festival director Jiggs Thorne speaking of the significance of bringing Barks to the festival.
“It really is a massive coup to have Coleman coming to Swaziland. Having one of the world’s top poets wanting to perform at Bushfire really shows the growth of the festival as a world-class event.”
Barks will perform a selection of pieces during the Sunday programme, accompanied by Ronan Skillen, a top percussionist from SA, who will also perform over the festival weekend with his band BABU.
“(Rumi’s poetry) has always been performed with music, which helps the words go deeper into the heart,” says Coleman of the new collaboration initiated by Thorne.
In a region where poetry and music are both plentiful in tradition, Bushfire hopes to open the door to more artists who share their enthusiasm for collaborational performances such as Barks’ partnership with Skillen, as well as inspiring their audience with world- class artists such as Rumi, whose relevance is timeless.
“It is so important in these potentially, dangerously, sectarian times that we appeal to what holds our fragile world together. Rumi’s poetry seems to be one of those things,” says Barks, who has never been to southern Africa. “I have heard about the beauty of the place and its people. I look forward to taking all that in.”
All set for 2010 Bushire Festival
Swaziland bushfire
Swaziland’s Bushfire Festival is an annual explosion of entertainment hosted in the internationally acclaimed House on Fire – one of the most eclectic performance venues in the world! (www.house-on-fire.com) Bushfire 2010 will take place earlier this year in May to align beautifully with the FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa. The festival will take full advantage of the increased media attention of the region to ensure widespread high profile exposure for the event. Bushfire seeks to create a platform not only for the growth and development of the arts but also highlights and raises funds for some of the more critical social needs that face our country. This unique philosophy, Bushfire’s “Call to Action”, establishes the Bushfire Festival as one of the ONLY events of it’s kind on the African Continent. Highlighting Swaziland as a top African Destination, this fabulous combination of achievable idealism hosted in a mind-blowing setting creates the unbeatable energy behind a truly inspired Festival. Situated in Swaziland’s Ezulwini Valley (Valley of Heaven), Bushfire offers 4 stages of World-class entertainment for 3 full days and nights…A fantastic event for the entire family.
This Year’s Line up is as follows:
• Babu (SA)
Babu fuses the complexity and vibrancy of jazz with the long-standing improvisational practices of Indian classical music. Nominated for two SAMA awards, Babu features Kesivan Naidoo on
drums, the Standard Bank Young Jazz Artist of the year 2009.
• Blk Jks (SA)
SAMA AWARD WINNERS 2010!! (BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK)
Rolling Stone Magazine describes the Blk Jks as ‘Africa’s best new band’. With a wide array of influences, from Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Blk Jks perform an electrifying blend of uniquely South African, afro alternative rock.
• Bholoja (SD)
Swaziland’s rising symbol of song, art and culture, Bholoja’s striking multi-colored voice and his native lyrical songs has won respect and expanded his following across national borders.
• Buskaid (SA)
The Buskaid Project from Soweto is an ensemble of young performers, widely acclaimed for their intuitive grasp of classical music blended with a unique African sound.
Clowns Without Borders (USA /SA / SD)
The collaboration between Clowns Without Borders and the People’s Educational Theatre (PET) explores the relationship of clown theatre and community intervention for HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. CWB will bring laughs to the Bushfire lawn throughout the festival weekend.
• Coleman Barks (USA)
World- renowned US poet Coleman Barks presents a poetry workshop and a performance of works written by 13th Century Sufi mystic poet Rumi- one of the creative influences of House on Fire and this year’s Festival theme ‘One Song’. As the foremost authority on the works of the celebrated poet Rumi, Barks will perform accompanied by top percussionist Ronan Skillen.
• Flame (MOZ, ZIM, SA)
African Synergy presents Flame, a pioneering Afro-jazz collaboration of three of Africa’s wondrous ladies of song (Mingus from Mozambique, Zimbabwe’s Dudu Manhenga and Mphumie Twala from South Africa) accompanied by the superb saxophone of Dhitini Mbali.
• Freshly Ground (SA, MOZ, ZIM)
Celebrating the launch of their new album in May, Bushfire will welcome back Freshly Ground to the super stage. Winners of multiple national and international music awards, Freshly Ground weaves a sound that is highly infectious and undeniably groovy.
• Gold Lion Film Festival (SD)
Bushfire showcases a series of short films selected from the prestigious Gold Lion International Film Festival throughout the weekend.
• Lira (SA)
SAMA AWARD WINNER 2010!! (BEST FEMALE)
Known her for eclectic sounds comprising elements of Afro-pop, R&B and jazz, Lira has become a major selling artist in South Africa and is set to explode onto the international circuit with her debut at Bushfire.
• ‘Man up a Tree’ (SA)
Performed by Ellis Pearson and Sdumo Mtshali, this powerfully visual and comically persuasive theatre uses the delights of circus performance to create a totally entertaining story that deals head on with the urgent theme of global climate change.
• The Moreira Project (MOZ)
Originally from Mozambique, multi-award winning Moreira Chonguica has created a new awakening in jazz lovers. Playing with a band of Cape Town’s hottest musicians, Moreira Project brings a contemporary African fusion of jazz for the ‘fresh ear’ onto the Bushfire Stage.
• The Parlotones (SA)
SAMA AWARD WINNER 2010!! (BEST ROCK
The Grammy Award winning Parlotones debut on the Bushfire Stage this year. Known for theirelectric and polished live performances, this award winning South African super-group fuse alternative rock with deftly crafted and darkly romantic lyrics.
• Ringo (SA)
No newcomer to the music scene, Ringo Madlingozi is a Multi-talented vocalist, drummer, percussionist, guitarist, songwriter and producer. Ringo is sure to set the Bushfire stage alight with awesome stage presence and Afro-pop beats.
• Risenga Makondo, Sotho Sounds & The Luvatsi ‘Recycled Orchestra’ (SA, LSO, SD)
Risenga Makondo plays a dazzling array of traditional African instruments and his music has featured on block-buster film The Matrix. Collaborating with Sotho Sounds, a group of young Shepherd musicians from Lesotho, Risenga will facilitate the ‘Recycled Orchestra’ with the Luvatsi community youth group, transforming junk into funk. This is Bush technology!
• The Silent Conductor (SA)
Steve Barnett, the Silent Conductor, returns to Bushfire 2010 bringing 300 drums and more for a spectacular interactive show-down. ‘When you’re in Africa, you cannot be an observer- you have to be part of the music’. Arrive early to book your drum!
• Temaswati Project (SD)
L’Alliance Française du Swaziland presents an a cappella project by ten female Swazi artists. Featuring Zaza, Flow D, Bongiwe Dlamini, Jazz P, Thobile Magagula, Fubu, Patchanga, Shanik, Lodanda and Nancy Gininza- Bushfire celebrates the launch of their debut album.
• Thobile ‘Makhoyane’ (SD)
Swaziland’s very own Thobile ‘Makhoyane’ keeps Swaziland’s indigenous instruments alive. Playing the makhoyane and the sitolotolo, she fuses traditional Southern African sounds with a contemporary flare.
• Winyo (Kenya)
Singing mainly in his native Dholuo and Swahili, Winyo’s passionate vocals and soulful acoustic guitar convey a powerful social message.
• International DJS
DJ Tira (Durban)
DJ Toby 2 Shoes (Cape Town)
DJ Ben (France)
• Local DJs
DJ Didang (SD)
DJ Crooks (SD)
+268 (SD)
DJ Mbo (SD)
DJ Mix Mash (SD)
DJ Tibza (SD)
Master P (SD)
Also featuring Bushfire’s Hip Hopsters: KRTC, MOZAIK and AKHONA
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