Just your average Wednesday morning for the BOTI team, gracing the stage at the Brighton Dome to hear Rokia Traoré perform three mesmerising acoustic tracks to celebrate her beautifully curated programme of events for this year’s Brighton Festival. And boy (or girl), are you in for a treat. As Guest Director for 2019, Rokia has brought her incredible Malian influence to a packed line-up with storytelling at its heart. Between 4th and 26th May 2019, there will be over 130 events with artists and performers from more than 20 countries, making the festival bill a feast of international culture. Where to begin? Well, with the programme going live at midday today (13th February), here are a few of our top picks to get you started…
Fly me to the moon (featured image)
Ever wanted to get up close and personal with the moon but can’t afford the rocket fare? Us too, so the news that the moon will be coming to Brighton is something we just had to shout about. Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon sees a full-scale model of the moon hover over Queens Park this May. Measuring seven metres in diameter, you’ll be able to see detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. Woah. The lunar imagery will be accompanied by moonlight (naturally) and surround-sound composition by award-winning composer Dan Jones. No space suit required!
Friday 17th May at 6.00pm to Monday 20th May at midday; free
Queens Park, 25 West Drive, Brighton BN2 0QU
Wet sounds and your swimmers
Sound travels four times faster in water, so how do you fancy getting your swimmers on and experiencing a unique sound installation in Brighton this May? Wet Sounds certainly promises that, using the physics of water to bring you an incredible surround-sound experience that will leave you looking at your local public pool in a very different way. We’d recommend diving in.
Saturday 4th May, 5.45pm, 6.30pm, 7.15pm, 8.00pm, 8.45pm, 9.30pm; £15
Prince Regent Swimming Pool, Church Street, Brighton BN1 1YA
From Bamako to Brighton
This year’s festival really is a celebration of different cultures and their stories, and Guest Director Rokia has made sure every festival goer will learn something new. She’ll be bringing three exclusive performances from Bambako (in Mali) to Brighton, opening with her amazing blues rock band who you may well be familiar with for their critically acclaimed album Né So. The second is Dream Mandé: Djata, the UK premiere of her theatrical and musical project based on the West African griot tradition of sung storytelling. But, what we are really excited about is her Dream Mandé: Bamanan Djourou event, where Rokia presents emerging Malian musicians who have a unique take on traditional music. There will be all sorts of adaptations of traditional Bambara songs, along with popular French and international tunes as you won’t have heard them before. Think Bob Marley with a twist of Rokia. Exactly!
Né So on Saturday 4th May, 8.00pm; £18.50 // Dream Mandé: Bamanan Djourou Saturday 18th May, 8.00pm; from £15 // Dream Mandé: Djata 21st May, 8.00pm; from £15
Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UD
Check out the full programme for more inspiration of what to book when tickets go on sale to members from Thursday 14th February at 7.30am. General sale from Friday 22nd February at 9.00am so get planning! Keep an eye out for some more news about what else to expect from the festival…
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