The "lotus" word came into my life again, not in the form of bluegrass or new age meditation, but in an experience called the "Lotus World Music Festival." This annual weekend festival in Bloomington took on the same form as Elkhart's Jazz Festival. Food vendors, art exhibits and several music venues were spread out within walking distance in the downtown. And, naturally, it was the diverse range of music that caught my interest.
At Lotus, my wife and I encountered Caribbean music by a Dominican Republic band, a fast-moving set of Romanian gypsy music, drum circles, African jazz, cajun, Irish folk music and so much more. The event featured talented musicians from around the world though every set wasn't necessarily for everyone (we were pretty bored after the first 10 minutes of a flamenco guitar solo, for instance).
At this festival we witnessed a performance by an aging pop singer, Janis Ian. She had left her mark in 1967 with one of those hyped racially "controversial" songs, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" then resurfaced with "I'm Seventeen" (another song with underlying themes)in 1975. The Janis Ian concert was a pleasant surprise. Janis played solo, displaying true guitar prowess with only a rhythm machine for backup. Her words, in the songs and in her short parables before each one, grabbed our attention, amused the crowd and showed a true sense of her emotions, world perspectives and intelligence. It was another one of those "Little Feat" experiences, when the pure joy of performance and revelation became the music.
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