Today marks the 31st anniversary of Bob Marley's death at age 36 from malignant melanoma.  In his honor, let's get out the old turntable (or queue up your personal mp3 device; whatever floats your boat) and let the mellow mood get us.

• 10 Essential Bob Marley CDs
• Readers Share: What is the Best Bob Marley CD of All Time?
• Bob Marley's Best Love Songs
• Bob Marley's Best Protest Songs
• CD Review: Bob Marley and the Wailers Live Forever

Saturday was my final day at Festival International 2012. It was a grand way to end my weekend, though. Among my highlights were Irish traditionalists Teada, who wowed me with their lively and deeply-rooted, non-fusionist take on Irish music (and surprised me with the addition of a new member of the band, accordionist and sean-nos singer Seamus Begley, quite the living legend of the island).

I also loved seeing Debo Band, the Boston-based Ethiopiques revival band, live for the first time -- what a show! And, of course, there was Lindigo, the Reunion Island Maloya group who I'd been looking forward to for a long time. They did not let me down. Naturally, being a huge festival, I also caught several bits and pieces of other bands (and... ahem... meat pies and gelato) on the way to and from various stages, which is always great fun. I didn't have any big surprises or new finds this year, but I loved so much of what I saw anyway that it really didn't matter. Here's a round-up of the photo galleries that I've posted thus far; more are on the way!

• Bombino, April 26
• Cheikh Lo, April 27
• Khaira Arby, April 27
• Teada, April 28

To catch a few more exclusive photographs from Festival International, as well as regular updates and discussions from other world music fans, "like" World Music at About.com on Facebook. See you over there!

Khaira Arby Image (c) Megan Romer, 2012 -- Licensed to About.com

I had myself a fabulous festival Friday and caught two international acts who I'd never seen live before: Cheikh Lo and Khaira Arby. Cheikh Lo is an old favorite of mine who plays jangly soukous and reggae-infused Senegalese mbalax, and live, he did not disappoint. He's a beautifully strong singer, and his band is vibrant and exciting. I posted a photo gallery from Cheikh Lo's set, if you're up for living vicariously.

I was also thrilled to catch Khaira Arby live for the first time. I've been hearing great things from trusted colleagues and friends since her first globalFEST appearance a few years ago, and I was so happy to finally catch her live. She's a real grande dame, in the great tradition of Cesaria Evora and Miriam Makeba, with an elegant command of the stage, her band, and her audience. I enjoyed her set tremendously, as did, it seemed, the members of Bombino's band, who danced and clapped from the audience, incognito in jeans and button-down shirts. One of my favorite things about festivals is watching bands interact with each other, and it's great to know that they appreciate each other's music as much as we do. I have a photo gallery of that set coming soon! (Update: Khaira Arby Photo Gallery)

Other highlights of the day were a stellar traditional Cajun set from the Pine Leaf Boys, and an exciting performance from Beats Antique, who combine Middle and Near Eastern melodies with electronic beats, all of which provide a soundtrack for what was easily the most creative bellydance-based performance art I've ever seen. Today, I'm looking forward to catching Acadian band Vishten, traditional Irish group Teada, Ethiopiques Debo Band, Reunion Islanders Lindigo, Chicago-based fusionists Lamajamal, New York based brass outfit Slavic Soul Party, and Afropop's reigning king, Seun Kuti. Wish me luck and fast feet!

This weekend's Festival International is a big one, and I'm trying to pace myself for a change, so we made a point of catching just one thing last night (technically the second night of the festival; Wednesday night offers Zydeco in the streets, which is great fun). Our choice was, of course, Desert blues wunderkind Bombino, and it was fantastic. As soon as I finish writing this very paragraph, I'm off to go see Khaira Arby, Bombino again, and all sorts of other great stuff. If you can't make it out to the festival for reasons of geography or practicality, you can live vicariously through my photo gallery: Bombino at Festival International 2012. If you are planning on heading out, make sure you don't miss any of my Must-See World Music Artists at Festival International 2012.

Image (c) Megan Romer, 2012 -- Licensed to About.com