Stamford Diversity is a free, open-access, family-friendly festival that will take place at the Stamford Recreation Ground from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday August 30, public holiday.
The festival is funded with £ 5,000 from the South Kesteven District Council Community Fund, £ 1,000 from the Stamford City Council grant and money from sales of the Stamford World Cook Book (available for £ 12.95 from All Good Market and Cakes + co in Stamford) which presents recipes from locals of different heritage.
The musical animations are:
Peterborough musician Don Saunders was born in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but has lived there for over 30 years.
Don says, “In the late 90s a popular band gave me three months to learn how to play steel drum for a big concert. I thought it was impossible at the time but I did my best and with the natural rhythm that I inherited from my Caribbean and Irish ancestors, I learned to play the pan and the concert was a success. After the concert, some people said I was the “King of the Dons”, hence my stage name King Don! “
Peterborough-based musician / producer Moises Sanchez formed Latino Sound in 2010 and has performed at various festivals in and around Peterborough, including the Willow Festival and the Green Meadows Festival in Oundle.
Currently, Latino Sound is the resident group for the eighth consecutive year at Revolucion De Cuba Norwich and Revolution Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Sheffield.
Born to a hippie blues singer and a Trinidadian Rastafarian actor and writer in London, Mellow Baku’s music shares his journey to freedom and healing.
Raised in a cult, at age 5, she escaped to study art and performed throughout the UK and abroad for over a decade.
MUHA offers a new tradition in contemporary Eastern European music, influenced by the multicultural society of the UK, the group is a brilliant live. Entertaining with their musicality through sound from Eastern roots and engaging audiences through a variety of languages and catchy grooves. Combining the melodic beauty of Eastern European folklore, North Indian kathak rhythms, Cuban rhythms and original lyrics, they mesmerize with a musical feast rooted in Slavic tradition but cultivated around the world.
Sura moved to the UK at the age of seventeen, as a percussionist in her brother’s band, the Seckou Keita Quintet. Since arriving in the UK, Sura has performed solo as well as in collaborations, participating in over 500 shows and festivals in over 30 different countries on all continents. He has worked and performed alongside renowned international musicians such as Baaba Maal, Rokia Traoré, Habib Koite and Sona Jobarteh.
His quest to promote traditional music from his cultural roots in The Gambia and his fascination with experimenting with new genres has led him to perform and record in a number of interesting cross-cultural contexts, including collaborations with the great violinist. Anglo-German Maximilian Baillie, Chinese erhu player Ling Peng, Indian sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee, French jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz, South African opera singer Pumeza, Hispano-Senegalese group Africai, multi-instrumentalist British Pete Josef and an album with the duo
Tāla Tarang embodies a particular chemistry, through a subtle yin-yang of two halves creating a whole. Their repertoire includes original music, folk tunes, classic pop, Bollywood, western and world classical music; it’s a truly unique sound experience.
Tāla Tarang, which means Rhythm Waves, is aptly named because it sums up everything about this duo and their music, as each performance takes both the audience and the artists on a journey; like the oscillations of a wave.
Eleanor met Mendi in 2014 after hearing him during a concert with other world music artists.
Since then, their friendship has grown not only through their mutual love of music, but also their passion for food (Mendi always cooks a curry to fuel their rehearsals!), Travel and the philosophy on family events and that change life. All these shared experiences deeply influence their original compositions.
Tony Nero and Mahemuda (Muni) Arsalani from Peterborough will be among the performers of the festival and in terms of refreshment there will be beers from around the world, Thai, Mexican, Caribbean and Indian cuisine as well as cakes and pancakes.
