Musicmatters Festival is an annual music festival with a focus on exposing Sri Lankans to music that is generally not accessible through radio and television, but which deserves to be recognised for its original creative spirit and the dedicated musicians who perform it. Held in August this year for the third consecutive year, the festival will bring an expected audience of around 1000 people. It is the only established event in Sri Lanka where artists from all over the world (USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Korea) representing a wide range of genres gather in Colombo to celebrate inspiring original music that is out of the mainstream.
Gigs
| Tuesday, 5th August | Eshantha Peiris: Launch of 'Global Rhythms Re-imagined' | Lionel Wendt | 7.00 p.m. |
| Wednesday, 6th August | Louis Perera performs Bach, Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven | Goethe Institut | 7.00 p.m. |
| Wednesday, 6th August | Grunge and Hip Hop | Charcoal Gallery Cafe | 8.30 p.m. |
| Thursday, 7th August | Big Ears Experimental Musi | Goethe Institut | 7.00 p.m. |
| Friday, 8th August | Music in the Courtyard | Goethe Institut | 7.00 p.m. |
| Saturday, 9th August | Main Concert | Viharamahadevi Park Amphitheatre | from 5.00 p.m. - midnight |
Programme for the Main Concert
| 5 p.m. | Serendib Sorcerers |
| 5.50 p.m. | Darren Moore and Suresh Vaidyanathan (UK, India) |
| 6.40 p.m. | Baliphonics |
| 7.30 p.m. | Chamber Music Society of Colombo directed by Lakshman J de Saram featuring Asvajit Boyle |
| 8.20 p.m. | Solo Drum Set: Dan Weiss (USA) |
| 9.10 p.m. | Chiri, World Premiere of "Echo from an Empty Creek". Simon Barker, Scott Tinkler, Bae il Dong (Australia/Korea) |
| 10 p.m. | The Humouresque Icons: Jeff Henderson, Hermione Johnson, Jonny Marks (New Zealand |
| 10.50 p.m. | Tyson Smith (New Zealand) |
| 11.10 p.m. | Thriloka |
Workshops
| Wednesday, August 6th | Low-Country Ritual Music on to the Stage by Baliphonics | University of Visual and Performing Arts | 1.00 p.m. |
| Wednesday, August 6th | Adapting the Tabla on to the Drum Set by Dan Weiss (New York | American Center | 3.00 p.m. |
| Thursday, August 7th | Koreanisation of the Western Drum Set by Simon Barker (Australia) | Musicmatters | 3.00 p.m. |
| Friday, August 8th | Jazz Improvisation on Guitar by Tyson Smith (New Zealand) | Musicmatters | 3.00 p.m. |
Tickets and Information
Festival Pass: Rs 2,500 (allows entry for all concerts and workshops)
Eshantha Peiris' Launch of Global Rhythms Re-imagined: Rs 2000, Rs 1000 (balcony reserved for festival pass holders)
Main Concert: Rs 1,000
All other concerts and workshops: Rs 500
Tickets will be available at Tickets.lk, Musicmatters, Goethe Institut, British Council and Yamaha Music Center from mid-July.
Phone: 0773018690
