NY Gypsy Festival - 2009 event & much-earlier kick-off party

March 31, 2009

Enter the wild, underground world of the Gypsies on April 11, 2009 when an all-star cast of performers, DJs, dancers and colorful characters gather to launch the 5th anniversary season of the NY Gypsy Festival. The 6-hour marathon will feature live bands and DJs in a circus-like atmosphere with dancers and palm readers and visuals at Le Poisson Rouge.

Tickets for the kick-off party are on sale. More info on the lineup below.

April 11th will be the first in a series of monthly warm-up parties leading up to the actual four-day Gypsy Fest which is scheduled for the end of September (Sept 23-26). Gogol Bordello played the inaugural event in 2005. Germany’s Shantel may be the headliner this year.

Videos of the kick-off party performers, the LPR flyer and more info, below…

Headlining the soiree is one of Turkey’s top clarinet players, Selim Sesler, who played two packed shows at Joe’s Pub two years ago. Described as “The Coltrane of the Clarinet” by The Guardian, Sesler will join the mighty NY Gypsy All-Stars for a must-see clash of the clarinets, and high energy Balkan funk & jazz. Also appearing are the 9-piece dance combo Romashka playing brassy Balkan beats & heart-twisting Russian tangos and heavyweight trumpeter Frank London, who brings his infectious energy and klezmer-brass sounds to the kick-off party. In their NY debut, Finnish duo Wonderlust are taking the Gypsy sound into club world by mixing music from both the west and east side of the Volga River. DJ Pepe rounds off the night with music from the Bosporus straight up the Danube River, right over the Hudson. West Village venue Le Poisson Rouge will morph into an Eastern gypsy town with visuals & decor by Wonderlust, palm reading by Mephulia and gypsy dances by the beautiful Kristina Melike – a feast not just for the ears but also for the eyes

Selim Sesler-Sehnaz Longa