Zimbabwean to Headline Globalfest 2013

Oliver Mtukudzi, one of Zimbabwe's leading songwriters who created a signature sound out of several African styles, will anchor the lineup for the Globalfest 2013 world music concert in January, organizers said on Tuesday.

A veteran singer who began his career in 1977 in the band Wagon Wheels, Mr. Mtukudzi, 60, blends styles from across southern Africa and beyond without loosing the modal threads of Zimbabwean roots music. He possesses a deep, gutsy voice and writes about the daily struggles of people in his homeland, accompanying himself with hypnotic guitar lines.

Unlike his old Wagon Wheels bandmate Thomas Mapfumo, Mr. Mtukudzi tends to shy away from direct political commentary about the Mugabe regime. Still, some of his songs have been interpreted as allegorical protests. In “Ndakuvara,” some saw the story about an ox hurting a farmer as a condemnation of political violence. And his single “Wasakara,' which means “You're Getting Old,” has bee n seen by many in Zimbabwe as a plea for Robert Mugabe to retire. Bonnie Raitt, who has recorded his songs, has likened his “raw, imploring vocals” to Otis Redding and Toots Hibbert.

He will headline a wide-ranging bill with 12 acts from different traditions: They include the Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, the Nuevo Flamenco group La Shica, the Hungarian Gypsy performer Parno Graszt, the Martha Redbone Roots Project and the classical Turkish duo Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan.

The concert will be held on Jan. 13 at Webster Hall, taking place on three separate stages. Now in its 10th year, the festival was established by a trio of New York music bookers - Bill Bragin, Shanta Thake and Isabel Soffer - after the 2011 terrorist attacks to promote world music in the United States. Tickets, which cost $40, are on sale through Ticketmaster.