Nottingham's Mela Weekend!

The Nottingham Mela returns for a very special weekend of activities set to take place on Saturday 17^th and Sunday 18^th July 2010 at New Art Exchange and Arboretum Park. 

The summer once again sees the advent of festival season in Nottingham, with this years Mela festival taking the form of a weekend full of international music and dance artists, arts and crafts and sumptuous food at two key city venues. 

RIZWAN MUAZZAM QAWWAAL | RAJASTHANI FOLK MUSIC AND DANCE | THE RAGHU DIXIT PROJECT | RAGHAV | ASH KING | SHAM D | BBC ASIAN NETWORK DJ’S MURTZ & NOREEN | DJ KAYPER | ORCHESTRA MUSIC WORLD - BOLLYWOOD & lots more! 

Saturday 17^th July will see New Art Exchange host the best of local talent from Nottinghamshire, with acts such as R’n’B and Soul artists The Gentlemen Band and Nii Plange, Eastern European-inspired MuHa, and world music acts including Global Folk, Poetic Pilgrimmage and Midlands’ dance troupe Asian Street Remix. On Sunday 18^th July Arboretum Park will host the best in South Asian entertainment from around the world.

Headlining this year we have Canadian superstar Raghav singing his latest single ‘So Much’ and other exclusive tracks from his new album, as well as Rizwan Muazzam Qawwal, the biggest Qawwali troupe in the world and nephews of the legendary Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Also performing will be renowned folk rock fusion band The Raghu Dixit Project (Bangalore), the vibrant Rajasthani Folk Music and Dance group, and R’n’B star Sham D. Greyology and Bollywood singer Ash King, who recently sung for Oscar-winner A R Rahman on the soundtrack for Delhi 6 and the forthcoming Aisha, will be performing a live set, whilst the award-winning DJ Kayper will be spinning the tunes at the Arboretum.  

Please check out the Mela trailer here: www.animoto.com/play/0CLnz86RoE7RyDFVFnYzkA 

Sundays Mela event will be hosted by BBC Asian Network Super DJ’s Murtz and Noreen Khan between 12 - 6pm, whilst many speciality stalls will sell a variety of Asian arts, textiles, music and freshly prepared Indian food. 

There will also be children’s activities, workshops, Yoga sessions, henna body art and lots more taking place throughout the weekend. For further information please go to www.nae.org.uk.