If there ever was a World Music super-group, this would be it. The BC World Music Collective brings together musicians from Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Africa, and London, who now make their home in the beautiful province of BC. The collective is comprised of Adonis Puentes, Celso Machado, Tonye Aganaba, Kurai Blessing, JP Carter, Locarno (Tom Landa, Pedro Mota, Robin Layne, Liam MacDonald, Nick La Riviere, Kalissa Landa, Ronnie Swirl) and First Nations (St?:lo/St’át’imc/Nlaka’pamux Territories) rapper, Ostwelve. The project first began in the summer of 2015, when the artists were asked to come together to perform at the Vancouver Island Music Festival. After an intense week of rehearsals, the group made their first appearance on the main stage of the festival. After their set, they were all elated with how it went, and decided one performance just wouldn’t be enough. A few weeks later, a plan was hatched to turn the one-off project into the province’s most exciting World Music band. Since 2016, the BCWMC has played at The Hornby Island Music Festival, The Filberg Festival, The Harmony Arts Festival and more. Their performance is very much a collaboration that sees all the musicians playing with each other, and backing each other up as they sing their own songs and tell the stories of where they are from. They take listeners on a worldwide journey without ever leaving home. “These 13 musicians, all with their own careers in world music, brought energy and new life into musical traditions from around the world. The collaboration, musicianship and enthusiasm on stage was exciting...” ~ Dierdre Atkinson (Hornby Music Festival) This program is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts & the Washington State Arts Commission.