Malta to host Mediterranean folk music festival

The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts on June 4 - 6 will present a festival of Mediterranean folk roots. Malouf music from Tunisia, Arabic fusion from Egypt and Balkan rhythms from Bosnia and Herzegovina will come together with Maltese ghana for Ghanafest 2010.

The festival will also feature a series of workshops on traditional instruments and a special programme for children.

The events will be held at Argotti Botanical Gardens in Floriana.

"Ghanafest offers a unique opportunity to experience an overview of the different styles of Maltese folksong, known as għana. Besides local folk music, each day the festival will present a variety of local musicians and ensembles. This category will include Maltese hip-hop by No Bling Show and Dominic Galea quartet, together with a selection of local songwriters," the council said.

The festival was launched by Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco who said that these were the kind of initiatives which needed to be promoted in order to give tourists an authentic experience of Malta.

This year's edition of the festival is dedicated to Maltese folk guitarist Indri Brincat (il-Pupa) who passed away on the 24^th of March 2010. Indri Brincat was also a renowned guitar maker.