For Seak Smith, 37, producing the first-ever Cambodian Music Festival on Sunday at the Ford Amphitheatre has been a labor of love - and duty.
The child of ethnic Cambodians who lived in Thailand, called Khmer Surin, Smith has spent most of her life in the United States, and in some ways felt disconnected from her heritage.
Music was one of the ways she could get in touch with her Khmer soul. So, with the help of her husband, Brian, Smith set out to present her vision.
The music festival, which brings together artists from across the United States, speaks to the Cambodian-American experience.
Smith took time to answer five questions:
A: 'I wanted to connect with my roots and background. I was inspired by a revival of arts (at the Season of Cambodia in New York) and I thought, 'What's next?' How can I stay connected and do more?' I thought 'Why not a music festival?' My father was a drummer and I grew up on classic Cambodian rock. It was the soundtrack of my youth.'
Q: What makes modern Cambodian music unique?
A: 'It's a very unique sound. Cambodian history and culture were built on music and the arts. It's a good tapestry of Cambodian arts infused with other influences. You can hear a lot of lacing of traditional (Khmer) beats into the music that brings a fresh sound.
Q: What did you look for in choosing the artists who will perform?
A: 'We wanted musicians with messages of unity and positiveness. In the past, we've struggled with a lot of negative images of the people and because of the genocide. We want to change the dialogue. It's about a revival of our legacy, about participating, about healing and rebuilding. I feel a sense of duty that we're trying to rebuild the image of Cambodia.'
Q: What kind of response have you gotten, and what kind of crowd to you expect?
A: 'At first, we didn't know what we were wandering into. We knew we wanted to expand to a newer audience. It will be a very mixed crowd from all over the country - there will be people from Rhode Island, Brooklyn, Minnesota, Canada. People are hungry to see something like this. People have been hashtagging on their own. It's been very organic.'
Q. What is your hope for the future of the festival?
A: 'A lot of people have been asking us to bring the show east, so there's a possibility it could become a traveling festival. I didn't expect that. Some Cambodian artists and businesses have talked to us about bring it (to Cambodia.) If there's interest, maybe that could happen in 2016. I don't want to get ahead of myself though. It kind of depends on how this goes. The idea is for the festival to become its own brand. We're making a CD and a camera crew will be documenting the weekend for a DVD that we'll produce and merchandise. The T-shirts have been very popular.'
Contact the writer: gmellen@lbregister.com
Entities 0 Name: Smith Count: 3 1 Name: Cambodia Count: 3 2 Name: Cambodian Count: 3 3 Name: United States Count: 2 4 Name: Canada Count: 1 5 Name: Seak Smith Count: 1 6 Name: Ford Amphitheatre Count: 1 7 Name: Minnesota Count: 1 8 Name: Rhode Island Count: 1 9 Name: Brian Count: 1 10 Name: Brooklyn Count: 1 11 Name: New York Count: 1 12 Name: Thailand Count: 1 13 Name: Khmer Surin Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1oPseLa Title: George Town Festival Is Making Its Name as Major Asian Arts Event Description: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Four years ago, officials in George Town, a city on the island of Penang off the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, thought it would be a fine idea to hold an arts festival to mark its listing as a Unesco World Heritage site.
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