Mendonca takes ‘Folk it Up’ tour to US: Folk musician Gavin Mendonca performing live in the United States, where he is currently on tour and treating his audiences to his distinct brand of Guyanese folk music infused with rock.
The tour, which kicked off on January 15th, has found Mendonca performing at open mic nights in different parts of New York City, participating in the Folk Alliance International (FIA) and presenting at the Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida.
The FIA puts on an annual summit for musicians and festivals around the world. This year was its 32nd edition of the summit, which was hosted in New Orleans. Mendonca met with musicians from different parts of the world and reports that his audiences were intrigued upon their first encounters with his folk stylings. Now musicians after hearing about Guyana for the first time and being enchanted by Guyanese folk music are already making plans to visit Guyana and have an exchange of culture and music, Mendonca says. “It was attended by thousands of folk musicians, DJs, [and] festival directors from around the world, many of which again have never heard of Guyana – and now consider Guyanese folk music to be a rare delicacy – which they want at their folk festivals. I have tapped into numerous networks in places like Canada, Australia, the UK, the US and even Europe, all thirsty for new content and culture with Guyanese folk music being my specialty. By meeting these people and networking with them, I have opened doorways for not just myself as a Guyanese folk musician, but for all of my peers and colleagues to tap into. I have developed an extensive mailing list of radio hosts and festival directors who want content from Guyana. I am happy to act as a bridge between the Guyanese creative industry and the rest of the world. That is my mission, after all,” the singer said.
“It’s been very positive. People are fascinated by our folk songs, by my ‘accent’ and use of words and melodies in song, and are usually very interested in hearing more about our culture, which they find interesting, especially since many of them have never heard of Guyana before,” Mendonca enthused.
Among their favourites was one of the singer’s latest single ‘Gangamani’, a song that espouses the virtues of marijuana. It’s his belief that ‘Gangamani’ has become a hit here in the States as parts of the world are becoming more liberal about the use of the herb, which he claims Guyana is still far behind in.
