Summary 👇
Editorial
Brief news from the media, charts and sister projects
Transglobal WMC Festival Awards
Open calls and professional events: So Alive Music Conference & Festival, A To Jazz world music showcase, Mercat de Música Viva de Vic, Circulart, Upbeat Artist Mentoring Programme, Fira Mediterrània de Manresa, Babel Music XP: accreditation and stand bookings, Sicily Music Conference 2026
Meet me at ✈️
Hello, how are you?
This time, the newsletter will be brief. I’m about to set off on a trip to Kolkata with Vigüela. They will be performing at Sur Jahan, the festival organised by Banglanatak dot com. We’ll be in Kolkata, and also in Ashram and Kharagpur, to run workshops and collaborate with local artists.
Some last-minute work issues have kept me on hold right up until the very last moment. Not everything has been easy, but some really nice things have happened over the past few days.
I’ve confirmed Ali Doğan Gönültaş’s return to Spain. It will be in Huelva, at the Muelle de las Carabelas, the harbour from which Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 on his journey—ironically—towards India. Although, as we all know, he didn’t exactly get there. I really hope I do make it to India! Though I’m sure we’ll find some surprises along the way.
I’ve already been to the festival once, back when it was still called Sufi Sutra. The team from Banglanatak dot com showed us some of the treasures of traditional art from the state of West Bengal. One example is patachitra singing, of which I’m sharing this memory with you.
Swarna Chitrakar sings the story of Krishna & Radha
In this occasion there is no interview. Only the usual sections and many open calls. I hope this will be of your interest.
Remember: if you have any news of interest for our community, let me know. Thank you very much for your attention. Araceli Tzigane | Mapamundi Música | +34 676 30 28 82
TRANSGLOBAL WMC FESTIVAL AWARDS
These are the results of the 4th edition:
1. (tie) URÀ Mercado Cultural de la Música (CR) + World Music Festival Bratislava (SK)
3. (tie) Alkantara Fest (IT) + Supernova International Ska Festival (US)
5. (tie) Sukiyaki Meets The World (JP) + Cordas World Music Festival (PT)
7. Fira Mediterrània de Manresa (ES)
8. Rainforest World Music Festival (MY)
9. Ethno Port Festival (PL)
10. Festival Arabesques (FR)
Learn more on the website.
Congratulations!!!
BRIEF NEWS FROM THE MEDIA, CHARTS AND SISTER PROJECTS 
🔸#1 for Transglobal World Music Chart in January December of 2026 is: Nusantara Beat’s homonymous album (Glitterbeat)
🔸Mundofonías: the favourites of January have been Los Originarios del Plan’s ¡Puritito Michoacán!; Ravi Kulur & Barry Phillips’ Breath & bow and La Cuivraille’sTournivelle
OPEN CALLS & PROFESSIONAL EVENTS
This section is open for news. It is free of charge. You can let me know if you have any open call of relevance to the community.
The following calls are new in the newsletter:
🔸So Alive Music Conference & Festival. Call for artists
It will take place from 14 – 16 October 2026 in Sofia, Bulgaria. I attended the last edition, in which we had a showcase by Ali Doğan Gönültaş. The styles of music they program is not that much world music, but mainly indie, with an open approach. I found it interesting to meet professional who don’t use to attend the world music events. The content of the panels was very practical of market-oriented.
Application Deadline: 10 February 2026. Live performing artists (solo acts or bands) presenting original music.
Eligible Genres: genres include (but are not limited to): Pop, jazz, hip-hop, electronic music with live instruments, soul, indie, funk, rock, metal, electro-pop, nu-jazz, folk, world music, acoustic pop, and related styles.
Eligible Countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey.
Check the conditions on the website.
🔸A To Jazz world music showcase. Call for artists
Also in Sofia: The showcase will take place on July 2, 2026. Participation includes a live performance, an educational module and speed meetings with international delegates held on July 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2026. Participation in all programme components (educational module, speed meetings, soundcheck and live performance) is mandatory.
Elegible countries: All EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Tunisia, Ukraine and Moldova.
Deadline: February 06, 2026
Check all the details, on their website.
🔸Mercat de Música Viva de Vic. Call for artists
The call is open until 31th of March, for the event to take place in Vic, Catalonia, from 16th of 20th of September. Registration, here.
“The programming is structured around two lines: MMVV Pro Catalan Arts! program, designed for professionals with the aim of promoting the hiring of premieres and new proposals, and MMVV Festival program, aimed at the general public with a more playful and festive spirit. […] Proposals can be submitted for all musical styles and genres, with the exception of classical music. ”
Check the selection criteria, on the website.
No restriction about countries of origin of the artists.
The following calls were already in the newsletter of December:
🔸Circulart
It is a meeting for the Ibero-American music sector, which will take place in Medellín from 4 to 7 June 2026. I should note in advance that all the documentation and the website are only available in Spanish. I think this gives a clear idea of who the call is — and is not — aimed at. This is the website.
The call is open to artists, musical groups, booking agencies, management agencies, and record labels. The programme includes showcases, business meetings, conferences, and training activities. The application deadline is 12 February 2026 at 6:00 p.m. (Colombia time).
Artists interested in applying for live performances (showcases) should be aware that CirculArt will not cover fees, travel and accommodation expenses, or any other costs. The market organisation will provide the selected artists with a stage and appropriate technical equipment for their performance, under equal technical conditions for all participants.
🔸Upbeat Artist Mentoring Programme: call for artists
“In the Programme we pair up music industry experts having solid mentoring experiences with emerging artists from the world music field. The pairs will work together for up to 10 months developing personalized, in-depth career plans that support the artists to scale up their careers.
We are looking for emerging European talents who wish to grow their careers in the music industry.”
Application deadline for artists: 21 January 2026
Who is it for: “Emerging artists who are connected to the world/global music industry and are ready for international work” from “EU member state or one of the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine, Tunisia.” Also, artists from other countries, legal residents in any of the countris of the list.
More details and application form, here.
🔸Fira Mediterrània de Manresa
The call for proposals for the showcases is open until 22 January 2026 at 23:59. The 29th Fira Mediterrània will take place from 15 to 18 October 2026 in Manresa. Check the conditions and apply, here.
This is one of the events I attend almost always and every year I send proposals. I have talked about the Fira on many occasions before in this newsletter. It is a multidisciplinary event, including music, dance and “Memory, legacy and oral storytelling”.
This phrase is specially meaningful: “Fira Mediterrània works with what we like to call 360 degrees of roots, starting with the first level, intangible heritage; continuing through folk and traditional culture associations, which take that heritage and work to connect it with society; and ending with the professional sector, the artists whose creations are based on that tradition. At the Fira, we place particular importance on the interchange, interrelation and intersection of all of those elements.
What do they offer? “Fira, as a performing arts fair attended by sector professionals (1,234 registered delegates), will agree a financial contribution with companies and groups.” They also provide meals and accommodation for artists that reside outside Catalonia. All the details are very well explained on the website.
🔸Babel Music XP: accreditation and stand bookings for Babel Music XP 2026 are open
This is another of the events that I have attended since they revived from Babel Med. It will be in Marseille from 19th to 21st of March.
🔸 Sicily Music Conference 2026: Call for Artists
The call for proposals for the showcases is open here, until 31 January 2026. Artists to be announced in February 2026. This is the official page for the call. I will bring some infos here:
- It will take place in Palermo – Catania, from 13 to 16 of May 2026.
- It provides access to professionals, to the workshops and all the events of the conference, for the artists and their representatives.
- Practical needs covered:
- Transportation: transfer from airport or ferry terminal to/from the hotel/venue(s)
- Accommodation: twin rooms for show night(s)
- Catering on the show day(s) …Sicilian food and hospitality
- Support to reach out to export offices or similar organizations with official invitations to apply for funding
- Support to connect with additional venues in Italy – I highlight this because some other events like this —showcases— require artists to maintain exclusivity in the surrounding region for some time before and after. This Sicilian conference, however, aims to support artists in getting more gigs. I don’t know yet if they have any restrictions regarding performances in the area around Palermo, but it’s really nice that they’re thinking about facilitating contacts to help organize other concerts around the showcase trip.
Do you have a call of interest for our community that you want to share? Let me know asap
MEET ME AT
- 22nd January-2nd February. With Vigüela in India for Sur Jahan festival and workshops and collaborations.
- 27th February. Concert by Ali Doğan Gönültaş in Andalucia (Spain). TBA.
- 19th-21st March: Babel Music XP.