So, multiple excitements are headed down the television pipeline. First off, the Grammy Awards are coming right up: January 31, 2010. Though the World Music Categories aren't shown during the live show (in fact, most of the categories aren't), I still always enjoy watching. The train wrecks, the "wardrobe malfunctions," and the occasional pleasant surprises -- not to mention the latest installment of "What Will Kanye Do?" -- it's an entertaining evening. No, it's not always the best music, but it's better than Sunday Night Football. Mostly because I understand the rules.
Then, sometime in early February, PBS stations across the nation will begin broadcasting a new TV show called Music Voyager. Hosted by Cumbancha Records and Putumayo World Music exec Jacob Edgar, it's sort of an Anthony Bourdain-meets-Great Performances scenario... Edgar trots the globe, meeting up with world music stars on their home turf, and finding some new great music along the way. In my never-humble opinion, a TV show like this one is a long time coming (seriously, how many food travel shows are there, and we're just now getting a music travel show?) and Jacob Edgar is the perfect guy to host it. He's got the street cred to impress die-hards like you and me, but he's the friendly, "bring home to mama" kind of chap that will keep newbies from being scared off.
So what do these two things have in common? They're both on TV, doy. Oh, and also, Music Voyager is presenting a series of short videos called Road to a Grammy, highlighting Grammy nominees from all sorts of different categories. Check out the video where Edgar visits with the nominees in the Cajun and Zydeco categories for a miniaturized sense of what the full-length show is going to be like (and to watch Michael Doucet of Beausoleil and young Creole fiddler Cedric Watson play a fantastic duet of "Cochon de Lait," Doucet's Cajun-style reworking of the traditional old-time tune "Sail Away Ladies"), or just poke around the Music Voyager's YouTube channel for a few minutes and see what else you find.
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