Zar Electrik brought their boundary-pushing sound to WFHB for a special Lotus Live Session on September 26, 2025. With members hailing from France and Morocco, the trio fuses North African and Sub-Saharan traditions with electronic textures, creating an intercontinental groove that blurs the lines between trance, funk, and global folk.

Hosted by Adriane Pontecorvo, the conversation explored Zar Electrik’s unique blend of influences, their collaborative approach to songwriting, and the energy they bring to the stage. Their performance filled the studio with hypnotic rhythms and driving beats, offering a taste of the unforgettable live show they would bring to Bloomington during the Lotus Festival.

WFHB Production Team:

Host & Coordinating Producer: Adriane Pontecorvo

Producer: Abby Noroozi

Session Engineers: Silver Coulter

Post-Production Engineer: Chama Henry

Estonian duo Puuluup joined WFHB for a special Lotus Live Session on September 26, 2025. With their playful, genre-defying approach, Puuluup reimagines the ancient Talharpa (a traditional bowed lyre) by blending it with modern loops, electronics, and quirky humor. The result is music that’s earthy, experimental, and full of charm — equal parts tradition and innovation.

Hosted by Adriane Pontecorvo, the session explored Puuluup’s creative process, their love of reviving folk instruments for contemporary audiences, and the ways their performances invite listeners into a joyful, offbeat sound world. Their live set at WFHB offered Bloomington a preview of the energy and imagination they brought to the Lotus Festival stage.

WFHB Production Team:

Host & Coordinating Producer: Adriane Pontecorvo

Producer: Abby Noroozi

Session Engineers: Silver Coulter

Post-Production Engineer: Chama Henry

On September 30, 2023, Madalitso Band joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of their Lotus Festival performance.

Host: Adriane Pontecorvo
Engineers: Alyssa Gray and Chama Henry
Producer: Christine Brackenhoff
Post-Production Engineer: Chama Henry

On September 30, 2023, Larry & Joe joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of their Lotus Festival performance.

Host: Adriane Pontecorvo
Engineers: Alyssa Gray and Chama Henry
Producer: Christine Brackenhoff
Post-Production Engineer: Chama Henry

On September 29, 2023, Kavita Shah joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of her Lotus Festival performance.

Host: Adriane Pontecorvo
Engineer: Jim Lang
Producer: Christine Brackenhoff

On September 24th, 2022, Vân-Ánh Võ joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of that evening’s Lotus Festival performance. We learned more about her various instruments and inspiration behind her compositions.

Host: Christine Brackenhoff
Co-producer: Adriane Pontecorvo
Engineer: Kirsten Payton

On September 24th, 2022, Seffarine joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of that evening’s Lotus Festival performance. We discussed the band's formation and their various musical influences.

Host: Christine Brackenhoff
Co-producer: Adriane Pontecorvo
Engineers: Kirsten Payton, Chama Henry, and Aidan Scott-Harmon

On Friday, September 24th (2021), Martha Redbone Roots Project joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of that evening’s Lotus Festival performance.

Host: Christine Brackenhoff
Engineer: Jim Lang

On Friday, September 24th (2021), Saraswathi joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of that evening’s Lotus Festival performance.

Host: Jennifer Brooks
Engineers: Jim Lang and Jeffrey Morris

On Saturday, September 25th, Yacouba Sissoko and Moussa Diabate joined us at the station for a live performance and interview ahead of that evening's Lotus Festival performance.

Host: Adriane Pontecorvo
Engineer: Jim Lang

Nohe & Sus Santos (Nohe and Her Saints) is a four-piece band replete with the musical vibes of Central and North America. Incorporating Alt-Rock en Espanol and quirky Cumbia, Nohe & Sus Santos deliver a Latinx vibe full of soul, passion, and a good dose of attitude, accentuated by electric guitar, bass, percussion and the voice of celebrated Honduran vocalist Nohelia Sosa.
Interview Guests: Nohelia Crisafulli, Randy Sanchez, and Justin Bransford
Interview Host: Christine Brackenhoff
Edited by Christine Brackenhoff
Coordinating Producer: Adriane Pontecorvo

The Friel Sisters (Anna, Sheila, and Clare Friel) are young traditional musicians born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland - with their family roots firmly entrenched in the Donegal Gaeltacht in North West Ireland. They play a mixture of music interspersed with songs in English and Irish, many from their family repertoire.
Songs by The Friel Sisters heard in this segment: Young Tom Ennis/King Of The Pipers/Hunt The Cat, Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine/Battle of Aughrim, When My Love and I Parted, A Stór A Stór A Ghrá
Interview Gust: Clare Friel
Interview Host: Jamie Gans
Edited by Jim Manion
Coordinating Producer: Adriane Pontecorvo

Fierce energy, beatbox rhythms, and other-worldly harmonies: TUULETAR (Goddess of The Wind in Finnish mythology) is taking Finnish music abroad with a novel approach. The band’s virtuoso singers create a sonic landscape, where beatbox rhythms meet global influences and Finnish poetry tradition. With freshly invigorating original music, Tuuletar enchants audiences globally with their heartfelt, tribal, and captivating spirit.

Interview Host: Adriane Pontecorvo
Interview Guests: Venla Ilona Blom, Piia Säilynoja, Johanna Kyykoski


Tuuletar songs heard in segment: Odotan, Ei Leijuta, A Mintäh, Vaaltaja, Alku, Viimeinen askel ennen menoa, Hälytystila


Edited and Produced for WFHB by Adriane Pontecorvo
Executive Producer: Jim Manion

Fanfara Station is a celebration with a brass band, an entire North African rhythm section, and contemporary electro Dance beats. It’s a dance party created live by only three musicians thanks to the use of loop stations for live over-dubbing. Fanfara Station’s stage is filled with instruments: percussion: scascika, tar, bendir, darbuka, and tabla sit next to trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and Tunisian woodwinds: nay, mizued, and zocra. Then there are dozens of wires connecting loop stations, controllers, and an array of effects pedals. A myriad of acoustic and electric sounds dialogue and sustain the voice of singer and songwriter Marzouk Mejri.

Interview Host: Allison Strang

Interview Guest: Charles Ferris

Fanfara songs heard in this segment: Damne, Canzone Arrabbiata, Mariage, Rahil

Edited by Jim Manion

Coordinating Producer: Adriane Pontecorvo

Executive Producer: Jim Manion

Long before they were a band, the members of Lula Wiles sang folk songs and traded fiddle tunes at camp in Maine. The trio, all of whom grew up in rural Maine, carry those lessons of community and the meaning of shared art with them as they create music that explores cultural virtues, soothes aching wounds, and envisions a better world. Their singing includes clear vocals and lovely three-part harmonies, and they are steady, stronger player on acoustic and electric guitars, fiddles, and upright bass. Lula Wiles’ spare, direct style reflects their strongest influences – including Elizabeth Cotten, Hazel Dickens, Woody Guthrie, and the Carter Family.

Lotus World Music and Arts Foundation and WFHB Community Radio have once again partnered to bring the Lotus Festival experience to the airwaves of South Central Indiana! Each Lotus Live session features a different Lotus festival artist for an exclusive performance and interview live from Blockhouse Studios. This session was broadcast live on September 28th on 91.3 FM, 98.1 Bloomington, 100.7 Nashville, 106.3 Ellettsville or visit wfhb.org.

Les Filles are from Illighadad, a secluded commune in central Niger, in the scrubland deserts at the Sahara’s edge. They draw on the traditional tende music of rural Niger that inspired Tuareg blues. The sparse music, which is built from a few elements (vocals, handclaps, percussion), is also dominated by women. Lead vocalist Fatou Seidi Ghali is one of the only Tuareg female guitarists in Niger. In lieu of the djembe or drum kit popular in Tuareg rock bands, Les Filles de Illighadad incorporate the traditional drum and the pounding calabash, half buried in water. Hypnotic guitar riffs, driving rhythm, and polyphonic resonant vocals combine to create a timeless sound.

Lotus World Music and Arts Foundation and WFHB Community Radio have once again partnered to bring the Lotus Festival experience to the airwaves of South Central Indiana! Each Lotus Live session features a different Lotus festival artist for an exclusive performance and interview live from Blockhouse Studios. This session was broadcast live on September 28th 91.3 FM, 98.1 Bloomington, 100.7 Nashville, 106.3 Ellettsville or visit wfhb.org.

The Steve Riley Trio plays Cajun French music born in the bayous of Southwest Louisiana: acappella ballads; Cajun blues; hot two-steps that transform the festival tent into a Louisiana dance floor. Steve Riley is a master of the Cajun accordion and his bandmembers are: Kevin Wimmer on fiddle and vocals, bringing a Creole touch to the proceedings; and Sam Broussard on guitar and vocals. You’ll want ‘em to play all night.

Lotus World Music and Arts Foundation and WFHB Community Radio have once again partnered to bring the Lotus Festival experience to the airwaves of South Central Indiana! Each Lotus Live session features a different Lotus festival artist for an exclusive performance and interview live from Blockhouse Studios. This session was broadcast live on September 28th 91.3 FM, 98.1 Bloomington, 100.7 Nashville, 106.3 Ellettsville or visit wfhb.org.

Lotus World Music and Arts Foundation and WFHB Community Radio have once again partnered to bring the Lotus Festival experience to the airwaves of South Central Indiana! Each Lotus Live session features a different Lotus festival artist for an exclusive performance and interview live from Blockhouse Studios. This session is broadcast live on 91.3 FM, 98.1 Bloomington, 100.7 Nashville, 106.3 Ellettsville or visit wfhb.org.

Two dynamic forces from Argentina’s independent folk scene come together at Lotus. Composer, singer, and actress Sofía Viola writes songs that evoke both Latin American folklore and contemporary life. She borrows from an impressive variety of styles (tango, milonga, cumbia, vallenato, bolero, blues, pop, rock, the Argentinian “tropical wave”); accompanying herself on guitar or charangón (an Andean lute), Sofía sings with a raw strength, expressiveness, and humor. Dat Garcia says, “I love to say what I’m not supposed to say, and to mix things that are not supposed to mix.” Writing and producing all of her own tracks digitally, Dat experiments with stylistic fusions: trip hop with folk, drum and bass with cumbia, hacarera with trip hop, charango with flutes.

Lotus World Music and Arts Foundation and WFHB Community Radio have once again partnered to bring the Lotus Festival experience to the airwaves of South Central Indiana! Each Lotus Live session features a different Lotus festival artist for an exclusive performance and interview live from Blockhouse Studios. This session was broadcast live on September 27 91.3 FM, 98.1 Bloomington, 100.7 Nashville, 106.3 Ellettsville or visit wfhb.org.

Frontera Bugalú pays homage to music unique to the long Texas/Mexico border that stretches from Brownsville to El Paso: high-energy cumbia blended with the “border folk” of traditional accordion-fronted Mexican music and of other Latin rhythms. The band began as a collaboration between accordionist/singer Kiko Rodriguez and keyboardist Joel Osvaldo, two veterans of El Paso’s punk, rock, and roots music scenes. The band channels the vibrant shared culture of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and embodies the new sound of the border, one that embraces both sides of the Rio Grande.

Lotus World Music and Arts Foundation and WFHB Community Radio have once again partnered to bring the Lotus Festival experience to the airwaves of South Central Indiana! Each Lotus Live session features a different Lotus festival artist for an exclusive performance and interview live from Blockhouse Studios. This session is broadcast live on 91.3 FM, 98.1 Bloomington, 100.7 Nashville, 106.3 Ellettsville or visit wfhb.org.

Dave Curley (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin), Tadhg Ó Meachair (piano, piano accordion), and Joanna Hyde (vocals, fiddle) perform a rousing blend of Irish and American folk music. They move easily among traditional melodies, their own compositions, and songs from the broader folk canon. Dave, Tadhg (pronounced “tie”), and Joanna’s music explores the long-running, lively “conversation” between Irish traditional music and its descendants in American folk music.