Nottingham’s Mela Weekend! Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 July 2010
PRESS RELEASE: Nottingham’s Mela Weekend 2010
Dates / Venues:
Saturday 17 July @ New Art Exchange, 12 – 8pm
Sunday 18 July @ Arboretum Park, 12 – 6pm
Admission: Free!
The Nottingham Mela returns for a very special weekend of activities set to take place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th July 2010 at New Art Exchange and Arboretum Park.
The summer once again sees the advent of festival season in Nottingham, with this years Mela festival taking the form of a weekend full of international music and dance artists, arts and crafts and sumptuous food at two key city venues.
RIZWAN MUAZZAM QAWWAAL | RAJASTHANI FOLK MUSIC AND DANCE | THE RAGHU DIXIT PROJECT | RAGHAV | ASH KING | SHAM D | BBC ASIAN NETWORK DJ’S MURTZ & NOREEN | DJ KAYPER | ORCHESTRA MUSIC WORLD – BOLLYWOOD & lots more! Saturday 17th July will see New Art Exchange host the best of local talent from Nottinghamshire, with acts such as R’n’B and Soul artists The Gentlemen Band and Nii Plange, Eastern European-inspired MuHa, and world music acts including Global Folk, Poetic Pilgrimmage and Midlands’ dance troupe Asian Street Remix. On Sunday 18th July Arboretum Park will host the best in South Asian entertainment from around the world.
Headlining this year we have Canadian superstar Raghav singing his latest single ‘So Much’ and other exclusive tracks from his new album, as well as Rizwan Muazzam Qawwal, the biggest Qawwali troupe in the world and nephews of the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Also performing will be renowned folk rock fusion band The Raghu Dixit Project (Bangalore), the vibrant Rajasthani Folk Music and Dance group, and R’n’B star Sham D. Greyology and Bollywood singer Ash King, who recently sung for Oscar-winner A R Rahman on the soundtrack for Delhi 6 and the forthcoming Aisha, will be performing a live set, whilst the award-winning DJ Kayper will be spinning the tunes at the Arboretum. Please check out the Mela trailer here: www.animoto.com/play/0CLnz86RoE7RyDFVFnYzkA
Sundays Mela event will be hosted by BBC Asian Network Super DJ’s Murtz and Noreen Khan between 12 – 6pm, whilst many speciality stalls will sell a variety of Asian arts, textiles, music and freshly prepared Indian food.
Russell Atkinson, Managing Director, Lebara Mobile UK, said, “Our sponsorship of this year’s Nottingham Mela is part of an ongoing programme of support and commitment to our customers within the South Asian community and we are proud to be associated with this event. As a vibrant and colourful celebration of Asian culture, UK Melas offer us an ideal platform to connect with our customers and we hope, through our participation and support, to build strong relationships with the community as well as offer opportunities for such events to continue to flourish."
There will also be children’s activities, workshops, Yoga sessions, henna body art and lots more taking place throughout the weekend. For further information please go to www.nae.org.uk.
Background
Britain’s premier Mela festival has consistently showcased live performances by national and international artists including the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Nitin Sawhney, Anup Jalota, Najma Akhtar, Baluji Shrivastav,
Aziz Mian Qawwaal, Alaap, DCS, Apna Sangeet, Golden Star and Apache Indian amongst others. The best in performances from the diverse artistic cultures of South Asia such as Bhangra, Ghazal, Qawwali, classical & folk dance and theatre.
Nottingham Mela has continually brought together young South Asian artists and visitors from around the country in an environment of creativity, tolerance and respect. The event has always provided a unique opportunity to experience and partake in a weekend of live performances, interactive workshops and something slightly different. In recent years it did condense from a two-day festival to a one day event, but the thoughts and spirit behind Mela remain the same, that of creativity, music, respect, and celebration in diversity.