World Music Fest 2026: Mbira Renaissance Band

World Music Fest 2026: Mbria Renaissance Band – a labor of love and joy, six years in the making! While in isolation during the pandemic, Co-founder, Valerie McElroy, wanted to create a way for us “travel” together – a way for us to come together by learning about and participating meaningfully with music from all over the world. Four years later, Valerie joined forces with Toni Cortez-Aguilar and co-founded Connessa Collective. Six years later, what started as a small virtual project has officially blossomed into our first inaugural World Music Fest!

This community event celebrates a specific world music tradition and features a chamber performance, an interview, and an interactive workshop led by the composer-performing artist of the commissioned work. As we collaborate with the featured artist to co-create unique programming that ensures representation without appropriation, our local community of diverse musicians is strengthened, and at the same time, our local community of audiencegoers gets the opportunity to connect with our global neighbors through the power of music.

For World Music Fest 2026, we are collaborating with Mbira Renaissance, a Zimbabwean fusion band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Valerie stumbled upon their award-winning music during the pandemic. This incredible ensemble is known for creatively melding the sounds of the mbira, a traditional instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe, with guitars, keyboard, and brass instruments! Their sound is definitely a unique one, with splashes of reggae, Afro-jazz, Chimurenga, and Afro-pop. Mbira Renaissance recently released their first full-length album, and we are excited to bring their music, energy, and expertise to Carlsbad, CA.