As the old Estonian proverb goes, \u201cAll roads lead to Viljandi in late July.\u201d This is when Viljandi Folk, perhaps the world\u2019s most famous folk music festival, takes place, this year from 23\u201326 July. The town of Viljandi has medieval castle ruins right throughout the hills in the centre, providing the perfect venue for six stages, featuring the best folk music artists from Estonia, and around the world.<\/p>\n
With 60 artists scheduled to perform, Viljandi Folk this year promises to be the best ever. Major names such as Curly Strings, Mari J\u00fcrjens<\/b>, Mari Kalkun<\/b>, Puuluup, Zetod, T\u00f5nis M\u00e4gi<\/b>, and of course Duo Ruut\u00b3\u2014the \u201c3\u201d in their name means they\u2019ll have additional musicians on stage for the concert. International guests from Sweden, Norway, Tanzania, Cape Verde, Mexico, the UK, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and even China will also perform.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve never attended Viljandi Folk before, a good tip is to select concerts by international artists, because you never know if you\u2019ll discover a new genre of music that you\u2019ll truly love. For example, this year will be the first time a type of music called \u201cmorna\u201d will be performed at the festival. Sometimes referred to as \u201cCape Verdean blues\u201d, it has been added to UNESCO\u2019s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.<\/p>\n
The Zawose Queens from Tanzania are definitely one of the most distinctive bookings of this year\u2019s festival. East African musical traditions, including instruments such as the chizeze<\/i> fiddle, the illimba<\/i> thumb piano, and ngoma<\/i> drums, will be played during the concert, which is also the first time an artist from this country has ever played at Viljandi Folk.<\/p>\n
Camping, glamping, and a caravan area are available for the festival. Buses run regularly to Viljandi from Tallinn, Tartu, and P\u00e4rnu, and trains run six times a day, seven days a week, from Tallinn. During the festival, due to the limited amount of parking, and the narrow, historical streets of Viljandi, arriving by car could prove quite uncomfortable. But you can always bicycle there!<\/p>\n