World Music Festival returns to Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The 17th annual World Music Festival Chicago is taking place Sept. 11-22. The 12-day festival features more than 50 artists from 25 countries in 18 venues across the city.

The free festival is produced by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. It's the largest festival of its kind in the United States.

This year's lineup features several premier concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, including Red Baraat, La Santa Cecilia, Mahmoud Ahmed, Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa, Orlando Julius & the AfroSoundz, Tal National, L. Subramaniam and Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal and Brothers.

Additional highlights of the World Music Festival Chicago 2015 include an Ethiopian New Year celebration; Ragamala, an all-night celebration of Indian classical music at the Chicago Cultural Center; and a performance by Manitoba artist Tanya Tagaq to complement a screening of the 1922 silent film "Nanook" of the North at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Carlos Tortolero, program director at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, talked with ABC7 Eyewitness News about the event.

World Music Festival Chicago 2015

Now through Sept. 22

Hours: Varies

Address: Locations throughout the city including Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph St.) and the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.)

Admission/ticket prices: Free