CNN Taps Into the Scene With Weekly ‘World Beat’

CNN’s global approach to news reporting has finally reached the music world with “World Beat,” a weekly 30-minute show hosted by Brooke Alexander in New York that airs Saturdays at 9 a.m. on the West Coast, with replays Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

“We’ve got a lot to cover,” says executive producer Tim Lister. “It would actually be easier to do an hour show rather than a half-hour. Some people say they love what we’re doing, but they’d like to hear more music. Others say they’d like to hear more music news.”

This week’s installment includes a cover story on the Spice Girls, a “Flipside” story on African guitarist Rigo Starr, an “Inside Track” profile on Luis Miguel, a “Fresh Cuts” hearing of Brian Wilson’s new album and a look at the European charts. Obviously the content is extremely broad, and, despite the program’s title, there is a strong emphasis on U.S. and English artists.

Lister acknowledges the problem with an explanation.

“I was out in Cambodia and Vietnam in April, and, like everywhere else, they want to hear Madonna and Hanson, and the local acts find it difficult to survive,” he says. “The American record-buying public makes up about 31% of the world [market], so it’s not surprising to find that what’s doing well in America is going to be doing well on the world charts. But once in a while a Ricky Martin or a Luis Miguel creeps in there.”

An emphasis on a wider global view turns up in “The Beat,” a segment devoted to world music news.

“This week,” says Lister, “we’ve covered Curtis Mayfield having his leg amputated. We’ll also cover a big concert in Hong Kong celebrating the first anniversary of the Hong Kong hand-over, with virtually everybody who’s anybody in Chinese pop scheduled to perform. And we’ve just done a piece on WOMAD out of Singapore with Zakir Hussain.”

Initial difficulties aside (such as the relatively short program time, the need to find international correspondents and budgetary limitations), Lister, who is also the executive producer for CNN International, is pleased that he’s gotten a show with such a wide musical franchise on the air for 52 weeks a year.

“We’re trying to have something for both the mainstream and the world music listener without making the show too esoteric one week or too poppy the next week,” he says. “We wouldn’t do the Spice Girls, the Backstreet Boys and Celine Dion all in one show, for example. Hopefully we’re going to be a lot more worldly than that.”

Festivals: It will take a willingness to spend some time and money traveling, but there are plenty of opportunities for dedicated world music fans to have a full plate of activities in July. Here’s a selection of some of the more appealing events, including some local happenings:

* Thursday-July 19: Quebec City Summer Festival. The beautiful Canadian metropolis, the oldest walled city in North America, will feature 400 performances in 11 days, on 15 outdoor stages. More than 800 artists from more than 20 countries--many from Francophone areas--will appear. Among the major names are the Africa Fete tour, singer Ani DiFranco, Mark O’Connor and Los Lobos. But the real fun of the festival is the opportunity to hear new talent from places such as Senegal, Mauritius, Brittany, Turkey and dozens of others. And the price is right: $6 (Canadian) for an admission badge that allows entrance to all shows. Quebec City, Canada. Information: (418) 692-5200.

* July 17-19. The California World Music Festival. With five stages for music and plenty of space for camping, family entertainment is stressed here. Few of the artists are well-known, but the music ranges from samba, calypso and bluegrass to folk, rock and African high life. Adult three-day passes, $75; two-day passes, $60 (both including camping). Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley, Calif. Information: (530) 891-4081.

* July 18-26. Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. OK, so Finland’s a long way to go to hear some world music. But there’s no other place where one can hear so many rarely encountered sounds from northern Europe (and dozens of other countries). Finnish bluegrass, soukous and reggae? It’s all here, as well as music from the Basque country, Cape Breton, Louisiana, Mexico and any other place that appeals to the Finns’ omnivorous musical appetite. Kaustinen, Finland. Information: 011-358-6-8064 111.

* July 19. Festival del Mariachi at the Orange County Fair. There’s a lot of mariachi around the Southland, but here’s an opportunity to see artists such as the Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez at the Orange County Fair for nothing more than the $6 fair admission ($2 for children). Costa Mesa. Fair information: (714) 708-FAIR.

* July 31-Aug. 2. WOMAD USA. This is the big one. WOMAD (World Music, Arts & Dance), now in its 18th year of presenting world music, has only visited North America once before, and this is the organization’s first single-site U.S. event. The lineup is a sterling collection of artists, including South Africa’s Abdullah Ibrahim, India’s Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain, Tibet’s Yungchen Lhamo, Hungary’s Muzsikas (with diva Marta Sebestyen), Zimbabwe’s Thomas Mapfumo, the U.K.’s Billy Bragg and numerous others, including American artists Joan Osborne and Bela Fleck. Three-day passes are $60; single-day advance tickets are $25 until Thursday, after which prices jump to $75 and $32. Marymoor Park in Redmond, Wash. (near Seattle). Information: (206) 281-8111.