Musical Tour del Mondo

January in Sydney is sweaty, salty, sultry and all about the Southerlies that sweep across the city of an afternoon, cooling the city down. Sydneysiders in January bear sun-kissed skin and revel in holiday mode.

Sydney's January is also synonymous with the Sydney Festival, when the city opens it's arms to musicians, artists and entertainers from across the world. Sydneysiders get the chance to travel the world without leaving the comfort or summer beauty of their Harbour City.

Here are some glimpses into this year's Festival that have allowed me to daydream about faraway lands without the cost of a plane ticket......



Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro from Japan... potentially the world's funkiest funk band (and just so cute that I want to squish their cheeks.)




Check them out and visualise squishing their cheeks here...
Our next overseas trip (departing next week) is to India. This year's Festival has had quite an Indian influence, which has gotten me all excited about the Indian adventure to come....
We were treated to a Bollywood spectacle thanks to AR Rahman (who did the music to a little film you may have heard of... Slumdog Millionaire.)

JAI HO!

Then one of the most haunting and uplifting musical concepts, direct from Rajasthan, India... the Manganiyar Seduction.

43 musicians compartementalised into a 'magic box' structure with each box being bordered by carnival lights and red curtains, and each musician being 'revealed'as the music unfolds. Unlike anything I have ever seen....

Hailing from Montreal, this is a shot from DJ Poirier's set.
The streets are closed off and DJs spin sets at various points around the CBD. It's about as close as Sydney gets to Carnivale..... (which incidentally is to be the Honeymoon destination for Boy Traveller and I next year... bring it on!)