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Behind the Curtain: Maya and Hoosiers Share Culture Through Opera

Mary Grogan, creator and director of ÓperaMaya, is introducing Bloomington to the Maya culture — and introducing opera to the Maya in Mexico. ÓperaMaya tours, festival-like, all over the Yucatan Peninsula, where few have experienced the art form. Writer Jennifer Pacenza talks to Grogan about what this means for Bloomington and the Maya. Click here to read the full story.

Big Mike’s B-town: Wounded Galaxies, Where 1968 Intersects with 2018

Wounded Galaxies 1968 — a conference, festival, and symposium including art exhibits, film screenings, and music performances — intersects with Bloomington’s orbit next month. LP columnist Michael G. Glab spoke to Joan Hawkins, a founder of the group that’s organizing the event. While Wounded Galaxies looks at the tumultuous year 1968, Hawkins says the event will be more than a museum piece: “We want to confront the whole concept of revolutionary aesthetics, and ask, ‘Where do we go from here?’” Click here to read the full story.

Beat the Cold with These 12 Winter Events

Feeling idle in the post-holiday lull? Writer and LP editor Dason Anderson has compiled a list of 12 happenings to get you out and about this winter season. Indoors, outdoors, alone or with friends, there’s something to do for everyone until spring comes again. Click here to read the full story.

Jamming in the Countryside at Stable Studios

Stable Studios began as one man’s dream but now helps other musicians fulfill theirs. It’s also one of the premier music venues in Owen County, a largely rural place that’s experiencing something of a cultural renaissance. Writer Grayson Pitts takes a tour of the former horse ranch that now hosts thousands of music fans a year. Click here to read the full story.

Busking 4 Freedom: Jesse Slokum, Unintentional Icon of Woodstock [video]

“Clap your hands, clap your hands!” And a lone figure stands, claps, and dances. Others rise to join him while Richie Havens sings “Freedom! Freedom!” onstage at Woodstock in 1969. In this Duane Busick video, meet Jesse Slokum, Bloomington’s “Busker 4 Freedom” and the man who got multitudes to dance at Woodstock. Click here to watch the video.

Lotus Time! Part 4, Young Musicians Fill the Bill

The Lotus World Music and Arts Festival is upon us, when performers from around the world fill the downtown streets with music. In part 4 of our series, writer Benjamin Beane profiles a young singer-songwriter from Scotland and an even younger brother/sister Indian-American duo who are rising stars in bluegrass. Click here to read the full story.

World Music Trailblazers Bring Innovative Sounds to Lotus

Music speaks. And it can tell stories. Musical acts Meklit (Ethiopia) and Sabha Motallebi (Iran) will showcase their own forms of musical storytelling this year at the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. In part 3 of his series, writer Benjamin Beane explores their genre-bending and -expanding music — and the stories they want to tell. Click here to read the full story.

Behind the Curtain: Va-Va-Va-Vaudeville

It’s a juggernaut! It’s a celebration of Bloomington’s amazing talent! It’s an extravagant array of performers — jugglers, dancers, comedians, aerial acrobats, burlesque performers, musicians, and even clever canines! It’s Va-Va-Va-Vaudeville! Jennifer Pacenza takes you Behind the Curtain of this variety show playing this weekend at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Click here to read the full story.

Two Lotus Fest Trios Offer Twists on Traditional Music

Xöömei and nyckelharpa … must be the sounds of Lotus! A meeting ground of world musical styles, the year’s Lotus Festival brings Swedish string trio Väsen and Tuvan throat singers Alash, offering an innovative twist on the traditional music of their home countries. Click here for videos and Benjamin Beane’s profiles of the bands, including an exclusive interview with Väsen.

Lineup for 24th Lotus World Music Festival Announced

The lineup for the 24th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival has been announced. In the coming weeks, writer Benjamin Beane will profile some of the more prominent acts that will perform. Lotus, which Beane says “perfectly encapsulates Bloomington’s celebration of cultural diversity,” begins September 28. Click here for the provisional lineup.

Helping a Musical Child Foster a Love of Music

Musical children pass through various stages of development, each step requiring different approaches, encouragement, and patience, says Miller Susens, a cellist in the IU Jacobs School of Music. Supporting young musicians encourages individual expression and contributes to a more well-rounded and compassionate human being. Click here to read the full story.

Voces Novae Celebrates 20 Years of ‘Adventurous’ Choral Music

Voces Novae has been performing for 20 years, but unlike other chamber choirs, its vision of choral music, says writer Jen Pacenza, is an adventurous experience for audiences and musicians alike. On Saturday, Voces Novae celebrates its 20th anniversary with a thematic tour, called “The Art and Science of Happiness,” at 5 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church. Click here to read the full story.