Music During the Festival
The local artist line-up for this year's festival will be announced in August. Photos & musical highlights from past festivals are below.
Check back as updates will be coming soon!
Music at the Festival
In the Live Music Capital of the World, with its thriving club scene, SXSWand the Austin City Limits Music Festival, theAustin Interfaith Arts and Music Festival is quietly emerging … offering yet another segment of our eclectic music community to the public. Many of Austin’s finest world musicians, faith based artists, composers and songwriters have graced our stages since 2004.
Vibrant, experimental and on a mission to find commonalities through the visual and performing arts, the festival is one big work in progress in the truest of Austin traditions. From the stellar vocals of Grammy and multiple Dove Award winning Gospel Artist Cynthia Clawson, to Bereket- the University of Texas Middle Eastern Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Sonia Seeman, to 1001 Night’s Orchestra and the Austin Hindu Temple Dancers, there is a little bit of something for everyone.
Grammy nominated Beth Nielsen Chapman opened the 2008 festival, performing hits from her songbook and selections from Prism, a CD which combines songs of devotion from Buddhist, Jewish, Sufi, Muslim, Shaker, Negrospiritual, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant and other traditions. Beloved Austin songstress Sara Hickman and Cantor Marie Betcher also joined in on the festivities, as well as Gospel Artist Grace Andre, The Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team, Native American (Pawnee) Flutist Dan Simpson, Indian fusion band Om-Kara, the multi-faith women’s choir The Hilde Girls, and CCM’s Rachel Keagy, among other returning participants.
Past performances have included noted Austin musicians Kamran Hooshmand, Mark Rubin, Don Weeda, Billy Wolfe, Lindsay Haisley, and Seymour Guenther … and such diverse acts as The Texas Early Music Project under the direction of Daniel Johnson, the Tamal folk music of Oliver Rajamani, vocalist extraordinaire Donna Hightower, Angelic Strings, Austin Baha’i Community Dancers, Nancy Fly and the Convict Hill Gang, Jewish Cantor Robbi Sherwin of Sababa, Mary K. Shanahan, violin sensation Omar Lopez, Andrew Cannata of Zilker Park and Zachary Scott Theatre fame, Devon Garza and Messenger, The Stillpoint Band, Threads, and Concept 7, among others.
The Austin Interfaith Arts and Music Festival is a venue bursting with artistic surprises and diversity! Join us as we continue to provide performance opportunities for stellar musicians who are devoted to peace and understanding among all people of faith.
