Arlington is gearing up for a global invasion of sorts — a musical invasion.
Musicians from around the world will be converging on the county this Labor Day weekend for the second annual Planet Arlington World Music Festival.
From jazz to salsa to folk and even ska, dozens of musical genres will be represented at the festival, being held at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Rosslyn. For the organizers of the concert, this cross-pollination of musical styles is exactly what they had in mind.
"[The musicians are] not just traditional artists. Their music represents a tradition that’s been fused with more than one culture," said Jon Palmer Claridge, a program director with Arlington County’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
The Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for most of the organizing of the festival, which is part of its series of globally-themed events called Planet Arlington.
The series is designed to, according to Planet Arlington spokesperson Jim Byers, "highlight issues of environment, immigration and globalization using the lens of the arts and humanities."
"Now in this world of globalization," Claridge said, "It’s not so much about nationalism. It’s about looking at what we share in common."
IN KEEPING WITH the poly-ethnic theme, this year’s headliners at the Planet Arlington World Music Festival are a mishmash of international styles and genres.
Latin Grammy winner Lila Downs combines her formal vocal training with the indigenous sounds of Southern Mexico.
Legendary trumpeter Hugh Masekela hails from South Africa but plays a familiar form of music similar to that of Harry Belafonte or Dizzy Gillespie.
In the early 1960s, The Skatalites combined blues, R&B, jazz, calypso and African rhythms to create the definitive Jamaican sound that influenced everyone from Bob Marley to Jimmy Cliff.
All these artists, along with Brazillian percussionist Cyro Baptista and New Orleanians the Treme Brass Band, will be in Arlington for the Labor Day weekend festival.
IT’S ALSO A great chance to see what many are calling a truly remarkable venue.
Located only yards away from the Potomac River, the views from the Festival’s stage are a draw in and of themselves. Claridge said that the location of the stage was enough to convince several of the artists to come to Arlington.
"We have world-class talent coming to what is one of the best places to view a concert in the country," he said. "Literally over the shoulders of the audience is the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the [U.S.] Capitol."
But, according to Chris Williams, who is one of the programmers of the festival, the main attraction, of course, is the wide variety of styles and bands.
Williams called the billing a "really nice mix of bands that maybe are unfamiliar to an Arlington audience. It’s a great chance to see something new and different."
He also said that, instead of coming at a certain time to see one of the performers, concertgoers should plan to stay all day and hear all the acts.
"If you’re familiar with one artist and unfamiliar with others, you experience something brand new every hour," Williams said. "It changes tastes so quickly. I think you’ll really be surprised."