Ifest Announces Music Lineup for 2009 Event in Downtown Houston Spotlighting Ireland

Headliners Include Ohio Players, Los Lobos, Mavis Staples, Hugh Masekela & Egypt 80, Cherish The Ladies, Plena Libre, Rachid Taha, Marc Broussard, Marcia Ball, Flaco Jimenez, Rootz Underground, The Wailing Souls, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Little Joe Y La Familia, CJ Chenier, BeauSoleil, Keith Frank, Mariachi Los Arrieros, Beoga, Kevin Burke, Julie Fowlis, Step Rideau, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Soul Rebels, J. Paul Jr., Danny O’Flaherty, Jody Nix, Joel Guzman, Terri Hendrix, Jones Family Singers, Little Brian Terry, Chic Gamine, Houston’s Championship Irish Dancers And Much More!

HOUSTON — The 2009 Houston International Festival spotlighting Ireland, is proud to announce the music lineup showcasing a host of top artists from around the globe. The 38th annual Festival returns to downtown Houston April 18-19 and 25-26, 2009, featuring continuous music, dance and cultural performances on 12 stages.

Headlining the Bud Light World Music Stage in Lower Sam Houston Park are funk legends the Ohio Players, April 18; soul/gospel queen Mavis Staples, April 19; South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, April 25; and Chicano roots-rockers Los Lobos, hosting the festival’s “Celtic/Conjunto” finale, April 26.  International acts include Egypt 80, Puerto Rico’s Plena Libre, Algerian-born Rachid Taha, Jamaica’s Rootz Underground and the Wailing Souls, Guinea’s Alpha YaYa Diallo and Quebec’s Chic Gamine, joined by Louisiana’s homegrown R&B/soul crooner Marc Broussard. Each year, iFest’s World Stage puts the best of world music next to the finest American roots music to demonstrate how music can communicate across cultural and linguistic barriers. This year’s lineup is one of our greatest yet.

Traditional Celtic music and dance will be showcased on Center Stage, built over the Reflection Pool in front of Houston’s City Hall. Headliners include Ireland’s hottest new band, Beoga, from County Down; Boston’s celebrated Irish-American lasses, Cherish the Ladies; and Scotland’s enchanting Gaelic thrush, Julie Fowlis. These incredible artists will be joined each night by an all-star team of Houston’s champion Irish dancers, drawn from the local troupes McTeggart, O’Maoileidigh and Cass. While guests enjoy the fantastic entertainment lineup on Center Stage, unique eats will be close by in the surrounding food court.

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