Perhaps it's still too early to be talking about gigs of the year but the upcoming Altan Festival might prove hard to beat. There will be three outstanding acts. All come from the fringes of Europe, from peoples with a history of persecution, but all have an equally long and proud music tradition that is colorful and exciting.
Altan is still probably the best Irish traditional music group around, and have become regular visitors to Japan. However, it's the other acts on the bill, Romania's Taraf de Haidouks and Kepa Junkera from Spain's Basque region, which make this such an intriguing prospect. The virtuosity of the players, and range of instruments on display will be quite staggering. All will also be playing their own gigs on other nights.
Taraf de Haidouks (Band of Brigands) hail from the Romanian lowland village of Clejani, quite close to Bucharest. About 3,000 people live in Clejani, of which approximately 300 are Gypsies, and among the Gypsy population, about 50 are musicians.