I bet the architects of Fort St Elmo never dreamt its parade ground would be used for the kind of unregimented dances on display at the Malta World Music Festival.
Alas, the urge to move body parts in weird and bizarre ways (or maybe that was just me) was irresistible, as many exciting musical explosions lit up the venue.
After arriving on Friday, I explored the mix of stalls boasting food, drink and crafts before joining the cheery crowd basking in the sun and scenic surroundings of the fort.
All we needed now was some weird and wonderful world music.
I was not disappointed! We were greeted with an eclectic range of talent, non-surprisingly from all across the globe; performing an impressive wealth of styles and genres over the Friday and Saturday evening.
Revellers were eased into the festival on Friday with Maltese contemplative alternative rock band Brodu.
The home-grown rockers, with their mournful, radiohead-esqe sound, started things off slowly; creating a harmonious calm before the coming musical storm.
The group were followed by Tsuumi Dance Theatre – a unique Finnish folk band rooted in Nordic folk traditions.
The rich combination of energy, fantastic Finnish fiddle playing and a rock steady rhythm section worked perfectly.
The evening’s final act, Tiwiza, deservedly took the headlining slot with its stirring mix of rock and African Berber music.
The rhythm and intriguing melodies coupled with an extremely charismatic live performance from the group, climatically ended the festival’s first night with a bang.
After recovering from a rather painful wine hangover on Saturday morning, (you’ve got to overdose on wine at artistic events, it’s a thing alright), I joined the festivities again in time for the second night's first act - The Khoury Project, from Jordan.
The group fuses folk music from the Middle East, Mediterranean and the west with jazz in an awe-inspiring way.
Next up was the wonderful Sona Jobarteh, from Gambia, who is a pioneer in the use of the kora – a West African 21-string harp.
The extremely talented artist performed a blend of musical styles with her band that kept the crowd excited and animated.
Despite the mindblowing talent I had already enjoyed, I was not prepared for the sheer glory of BandAdriatica.
The large Italian group blends elements of traditional Salento music with Balkan and North African influences and performs like there’s no tomorrow.
The celebratory extravaganza of BandAdriatica was an luxuriously tasty cherry on what was already a lush and scrumptious festival cake.
It’s safe to say I need to work on my inexcusable dance moves as i definitely will be back next year for the Malta World Musical Festival 2018 and would prefer not to earn as many concerned + sympathetic looks...