International Festival line-up announced

This year's music line-up for April's International Festival has been announced. It includes some alt.country, funk, blues, reggae, folk, cajun, and traditional African music. So what's this year's theme? You guessed it: China.

Actually, the folks at iFest are good about booking a diverse array of musicians, no matter what the theme is. This year's headliner is one of our favorite singer/songwriters from the south: Lucinda Williams. 54 year-old Williams just released her first album in four years, West. The new album was written after the death of her mother and the end of a troubled romantic relationship, which always seems to inspire the best out of songwriters. Fortunately, Williams will probably be a little bit more upbeat at the show, as she is engaged to be married soon. She'll be the closing act of iFest on the main stage.

Another top bill this year is George Clinton performing his own hits and those with his two bands Parliament and Funkadelic. Clinton's show will definitely be more of a party than Williams, with his colorful hair, horns, and fans screaming "we want the funk!" The funk-master close the main stage down on the first night of the festival.

There will be a total of seven stages, including a Tejas stage, Louisiana stage, a Houston stage for local acts, a kid's stage, and, of course, a China cultural stage filled with music and dancing. Other notable national and Texas acts that have been confirmed include Ruthie Foster, Jimmy LaFave, New Birth Brass Band, Ba Cissoko, Wayne Henderson & the Jazz Crusaders, Patrice Pike, and Jesse Dayton. Some good local music will be on tap, too: John Evans, Southern Backtones, The Mighty Orq, Arthur Yoria, Clouseaux, and Tody Castillo. Here's the complete schedule.

Houston International Festival
April 21-22 and 28-29
Downtown
Tickets