Berkeley World Music Festival This Weekend

Wassup, World: Markus James and the Wassonrai

To travel around the world this weekend, all you have to do is hop on BART and come to Berkeley.

The annual Berkeley World Music Festival happens Saturday, June 6, with various ethnic music specialists and purveyors of global rhythms in an around the Telegraph Avenue area--as well as a full-on concert showcase in MLK (aka Provo) Park, headlined by Zimbabwean world music legend Thomas Mapfumo. The concert showcase also features Freddy Clarke's Wobbly World, Markus James and the Wassonrai, Stephen Kent, and Julia Chigamba & the Chinyare Ensemble, while the Telegraph players include Moh Alileche, Sukhawat Ali Khan, Helene Attia Quartette, Dr. Loco, and the Black Olive Babes. There's also a craft bazaar and a poetry festival. Best of all, the entire festival is free--no passport or visa required, either. More info is here.