In 2004, I was at SXSW with publicist and friend Tracy Mann who, like me, is an internationalist when it comes to music. In fact, she had coaxed me down to Austin to cover the increasingly large population of international artists. Over drinks, we started talking about the contrived lines that separate artists who play so-called "world music" from the "international artists" who come to SXSW. Almost simultaneously, we started dreaming about a showcase that would aim to blur those lines. Thusly, the All Music Is World Music showcase was born (thank you Tom Frouge of Avocado Artists for uttering that line some years ago at MIDEM), with co-sponsorship from my program PRI's The World and KUT 90.5 Austin.

We launched the first showcase in 2005. It was well attended, though perhaps a bit chaotic (we lost the Iranian rockers 127 due to visas getting hung up at the US Embassy in Dubai, replacing them with the gracious Grupo Fantasma who actually never got to play because of cascading technical difficulties throughout the evening).

The next year was better. Timings went smoothly, and even 127 got their visas. And so it's gone, each year getting better and better.

The All Music Is World Music showcase is going to get its fifth spin, returning to Momo's this year on Thursday, March 19. I'm very excited about all the acts. Ximena Sarinana, a quirky singer-songwriter from Mexico with Beatlesque overtones; Playing for Change, a collaboration of talented but relatively unknown global musicians whose cover of "Stand by Me" has captivated youtubers; Brazilian rockers Pato Fu; Asa, a Nigerian singer with conscious lyrics and an infectious Afrobeat/reggae groove; Colombian danceniks Monareta; and the unlikely pairing of a Baltimore punk-guitarist and a Jamaican roots rocker in Kingman and Jonah.

Listen up on 90.5 for some of these artists as the showcase approaches, and then come out and see them live!

post by Todd with Marco Werman