Festival of Sacred Music

First of all, apologies for abandoning this blog for the past two months. (Did anyone notice, I wonder? I suspect my readership is small, if not completely imaginary.) Between working 14-hour days, 6 days a week, not actually being in L.A. during that time, and having spotty Internet access at my hotel, it just became impractical to keep up.

But then, to add insult to injury, my laptop died a month ago. The truth is, it was murdered. I ran over it with a 15-ft. cube truck. Not on purpose, mind you--so it was perhaps more like involuntary machine-slaughter than outright murder.

But now I have a brand-new computer, and I'm slowly getting back to normal in terms of my Internet activity. I realize I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'd better get started!

The Festival of Sacred Music got underway this past weekend. This 16-day extravaganza of performing arts takes place all over the city, and only happens once every three years. Tickets range in price, but many of the events are free and open to the public.

For instance, tomorrow night, there is a concert at the Japanese American National Museum of traditional and contemporary world music by artists from Iran and Greece. Thursday, September 18, 6:30 pm. 369 E. 1st Street (Little Tokyo). Free. For more info, go to janm.org

The festival will close on Sunday, September 28 with a giant ceremony and celebration on Santa Monica Beach. There will be an opening procession of Oaxacan brass and Scottish drums and bagpipes, followed by a performance of traditional Hawaiian chant and hula. And that's just the beginning! Three hundred artists will present sacred traditions from seven world cultures. The event is free.

For more information about the closing ceremonies and other events, click here.