Rhythms Sans Frontières (RSF) is a brand new music and arts festival taking place from 1st-3rd July 2022 at Euston Park in Suffolk. The event brings together performers and workshops in genres including indie, Latin, R&B, Jazz Fusion, Reggae, Bluegrass and Afro-Beat as well as immersive speaker tents shining a spotlight on key environmental and human rights issues.
The impressive, carefully curated music line-up includes a varied mix of global acts, including The Turbans, Addictive TV, The London Afrobeat Collective, Electric Jalaba, Muntu Valdo and all-female Afro-Latin jazz ensemble Colectiva.
RSF are thrilled to announce a collaboration with Wild Paths and London’s Movimientos crew to get the party started in fine style on Friday night. Wild Paths have made incredible leaps and bounds staging their own Festival in Norwich and programming an eclectic mix of artists across the city throughout the year.
The line-up includes Latin Jazz band Nebula Sun, US R&B singer Yaya Bey, high energy girl band All Day Breakfast Café and topping the bill the amazing 11 piece Jazz fusion group Levitation Orchestra. Wild Paths famous late-night Jazz Jam will follow.
Meanwhile deep in the woodland, the dance tent will play host to London’s Underground Latin scene with Movimientos who will be spinning Latin grooves and mixes until the early hours, courtesy of female Colombian DJ Bushbby and Movimientos founder Cal Jader.
Also added to the wider line-up today is world beatbox champions The Beatbox Collective, uplifting Brazilian band Papajaca feat. Duda Moleque, and Jose Ferrera-fronted Cuban band Cubanda.
In a ground-making move, RSF festival will proudly boast a dedicated speaker tent where leading international NGOs and charities will be presenting and giving talks on a number of key issues affecting the world today. As well as uniting with renewable energy company Rowan Energy as its main sponsor and carbon offset partner, the festival has teamed up with a number of campaigning organisations such as Amnesty International whose UK groups are currently working on UK modern slavery, and urging the government to provide safe routes for refugees under the Borders Bill and protection for the right to protest under the Policing Bill; Medecins sans Frontières, who is currently campaigning for vaccine equality; World Land Trust, and Frank Water.
Amnesty International East England activism rep for Amnesty UK, Alex P, says: “We are so excited about this new festival in our region which is a wonderful opportunity for Amnesty members everywhere to take part in something really exciting with organisers whose track record includes WOMAD. We are looking forward to working with other NGOs on interactive panels and workshops.”
In celebration of cultural diversity, RSF will have dedicated venues for interactive music and dance workshops, including African Drumming, Beatbox, Street Dance, Yoga and more. Among the artists hosting these sessions are three-time Grammy Award-winning percussionist and drummer Magatte Fall, a Senegalese performer who is now based in Los Angeles, who helped compose the score for Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther, and Mariana Pinho, a leading dancer and choreographer in Brazilian traditional dance forms.
At the helm of RSF are Artistic Director Gary Newland, a Norwich based world music promoter and programmer, whose other event credentials include WOMAD Festival, where Gary has managed two venue stages since 2008 and provided programming support to the team since 2000. He works alongside Gemma and Marcus Brown who run Wooden Roots, a company that, imports, designs and builds traditional West African djembe drums and percussion instruments from their base in Suffolk, UK.
Gary says: ‘Festivals are incredibly important spaces where immersive themes are becoming more and more important to festival-goers. We are aiming for the festival to be truly groundbreaking not just in terms of the eclectic mix of artists coming along, but also our emphasis on important issues concerning the environment, climate change and human rights’.
The RSF team are thrilled to bring its debut event to the sprawling natural beauty of Euston Park, which has enjoyed a strong musical connection over the years – Harry Grafton, the current and 12th Duke of Grafton who owns the Euston Park estate, worked with the Rolling Stones merchandise team on their Bigger Bang tour between 2005 and 2007 and hosts the annual Americana festival Red Rooster at his venue.
Rhythms Sans Frontières Festival has a raft of eco-friendly policies in place to minimise its carbon footprint. For example, visitors will be able to rent an upcycled pre-pitched tent and camping equipment from Camplight.
For David Duckworth, main sponsor Rowan’s Founder and CEO, starting up a renewable energy company was always going to include social corporate responsibility and driving innovative technological practices to be carbon-free.
“As the world’s first Community Fed Green energy company, I am proud of our business to be associated with leading human rights and humanitarian organisations like Amnesty International and Médecins sans Frontières. I believe that we can continue to experience cultural events that we all enjoy and have missed whilst also ensuring that we are not contributing anymore to polluting our planet.”
