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World Water Day Benefit
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World Water Day PDX Concert Series Slated for March 22
Portland Roasting-sponsored World Water Day event to benefit Water for All
Portland, Ore. - World music will be the resounding theme at the second annual World Water Day PDX concert series, slated for Monday, March 22, 2010, at the Aladdin Theatre, located at 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. in Portland. Doors open for the all-ages event at 6 p.m. Tickets are $18 in advance through Aladdin Theater or Ticketmaster, and $20 at the door.
Three Portland-based acts will be featured in the World Water Day PDX concert series, including 3 Leg Torso, Obo Addy, and Loveness Wesa and the Bantus Band. The concert series caps off the two-day Walk for Water fundraiser for Water for All, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean water to families in sub-Saharan Africa.
As headliner for the World Water Day concert series, 3 Leg Torso exudes an eclectic synthesis of chamber music, tango, klezmer, Latin and world music. The band features founding members and principal composers, Bela Balogh (violin and trumpet) and Courtney Von Drehle (accordion), as well as Gary Irvine (percussion/mallet percussion), T. J. Arko (mallet percussion), and Michael Papillo (double bass). Founded in 1996, 3 Leg Torso began with street performances known as "Meestering," which led to their release of two CDs (3 Leg Torso and Astor in Paris), East Coast and West Coast tours, performances with symphony orchestras, and a profile on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." The cinematic nature of their music has made it a natural for 3 Leg Torso to work with many independent film makers, including scoring The Dowager's Feast and The Dowager's Idyll, two films by Academy Award winning animator Joan Gratz.
Obo Addy is a prominent member of the first generation of African musicians to bring their traditional and popular music to Europe and America. A respected composer whose music reaches far beyond the boundaries of his land of birth, Addy boasts a 20-year presence on the international performing arts scene. He is known for his ability to celebrate past traditions while embracing new ideas and foreign influences through his music and community outreach work as director of Portland-based Homowo African Arts and Cultures.
Founded by Zimbabwe-born Wesa, Loveness Wesa & the Bantus Band convey Afro-pop with roots in the traditional music of Southern Africa. The band has performed in the Salem World Beat Festival and Northwest World Reggae Festival. Wesa has performed in most parts of the world including Australia, Europe, Canada, and Africa, and has also toured as a backup singer with Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited.
The World Water Day PDX concert series is sponsored by Portland Roasting Coffee Company, with organizational help from Portland State University's Capstone course on Millennium Development Goals. Concert admission will go toward the goal of raising $14,000 needed to build a water pump (maybe more than one!) in Tanzania, where water is a vital element in the production of coffee, one of the area's few commodities.
"Approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and each year, more than 2.2 million people in developing countries die from preventable diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene," said Mark Stell, founder and managing partner of Portland Roasting. "Funds raised by both of our World Water Day PDX events - the concert series and Walk for Water - will enable us to provide one community in Tanzania with easily accessed and safe drinking water."
For more information go to www.worldwaterdaypdx.com.
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