String of stars to perform in Malta in summer

Robert Plant, the former Led Zeppelin frontman, will be shaking his legendary golden locks at Bugibba on July 18 during Malta's first International Blues Wine Festival.

Plant, whose solo career took off in the early 1980s when Led Zeppelin split, has since dabbled in North African music and heavy blues, forever pushing his musical boundaries.

The singer, who will stay in Malta for three days accompanied by his current band Strange Sensation, will be playing an eclectic mix of Led Zeppelin favourite classics as well as other songs from his solo albums, a spokesman for the Tourism Ministry told The Sunday Times.

The outdoor festival, which is being organised by Classic Rock Promotions between July 16 and 18, will also feature a live act by the UK-based country rock band Smokie.

Smokie, renowned for classics such as Living Next Door to Alice and Have You Ever Seen the Rain, will be strumming away on July 17.

After 30 years on the scene, Smokie is far from burnt out and they continue to churn out albums that pack their concerts worldwide.

The line-up will also star John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, a pioneering English blues band, on July 16. Mayall, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, has been influential in the career of many instrumentalists, including Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John McVie, and Mike Fleetwood.

He is charged with being one of the guiding lights of the British Blues movement in the early to mid-1960s.

This festival is being held on the eve of the Malta Jazz Festival, which is being organised by NnG Promotions for the second consecutive year, from July 19-22.

The line-up of this festival will include another appearance by the Australian Pink Floyd, the Italian megastar Zucchero, the reggae group The Wailers, and Nina Ferro, one of finest jazz vocalists working today.

"That week in July we are going to have six days of solid music," the spokesman said.

This summer is being dubbed a hot season jampacked with cultural events that are big on dance, opera, classical music and rock.

On the operatic front, Spanish tenor José Carreras will be performing in Valletta on June 8, while Malta's own top operatic export, Joseph Calleja, will be wooing the crowds in Mdina on July 7.

That's not all for opera enthusiasts. At the end of August world-famous conductor Riccardo Muti will be in Malta with his Cherubini Youth Orchestra.

For rock fans, Canadian rock star Bryan Adams will be performing live at the Luxol Parade Grounds on June 28, as part of his worldwide Anthology tour.

Meanwhile, devotees of Italian music will surely pack the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre, Ta' Qali, on July 28, to watch Renzo Arbore, veteran performer, musician and showman.

With his blend of modern rhythms and classic Neapolitan melodies, Arbore is still proving to be a popular act across the globe.

Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said this calendar of events was in line with the government's plan to promote Malta as an exciting centre of culture and arts abroad.

"We want to get the message across that Malta is not just about history and cultural heritage; it's not fossilised, but vibrant and packed with things to do and watch," he said when contacted.

Dr Zammit Dimech said that every event was being heavily publicised abroad, a move that made a lot of sense now that low-cost airlines made it feasible for tourists to plan short breaks.

Asked if the Maltese could afford to attend so many events organised back to back, Dr Zammit Dimech said he preferred a situation where people were spoilt for choice.

"The number of Maltese attending the different shows and performances has marked an awakening in the arts," he said.