Global Union 2010 ushers in Autumn with song

It was the kind of day in which the smoothies vendor next to our ThirdCoast Digest booth was doing a brisk business, but mostly not for the blended fruit drinks. It was their hot chai that was selling out, as temperatures floated in the late 50s and the trees of Humboldt Park were just crowning with autumn colors.

What was hot at  Global Union was the music —  Saturday’s opening act Mahala Rai Banda (featuring a gypsy brass section and one mean Romanian accordion) quickly got the entire crowd moving. The circle dance in front of the stage was non-stop until the smooth Dominican Republic bachata sounds came from Joan Soriano‘s guitar. From there the mode switched up to couples dancing between the many blankets and lawn chairs that dotted the grassy hill.

The late afternoon concluded with a full stage of musicians and vibrant crowd once again as Ethiopian Jam Funk filled the air. Debo Band brought their 14-piece ensemble and then added four more with guest stars Fendika to collaborate in the fun. It was a sense of history, travel, and a new bunch of stars in the making that completed the first day alone.

Day Two brought a little more sunshine and a continuing party atmosphere with large crowds who enjoyed a Sunday of Celtic Reggae Dub Electronic (!) in Delhi 2 Dublin, the incredibly sultry Meklit Hadero, and finally exploding in Salsa party with La Excelencia.

On the first day, however, we brought the infamous TCD photo booth to accompany everyone’s favorite carnie game—balloon darts—that continually amused the young and old alike. You can see the results of our Rock Star! experiment below, as volunteers gave us their best singing face against the backdrop of the Humboldt Park bandshell.

We also threw in some beautiful shots of the outdoor music festival in progress. If you want to see them full screen or find your own photo and download it, once again our permissions on Flickr are temporarily suspended so you can do so for one week. Enjoy!