Roskilde Festival to open today; inspirational performances tomorrow

Summer music festivals are taking the globe by storm. From England's Glastonbury to America's Summerfest and hundreds, if not thousands, of local festivals, the trend is cutting across every nation to produce the most euphonious summer yet.

Beginning today, the Roskilde Festival will show once again why it is one of Europe's largest - and Northern Europe's absolute largest - annual music festivals. With around 80,000 ticket buying fans and easily over 150 artists in the lineup, the Danish festival is poised to have its biggest and best year yet.

Although inspired by Woodstock, it has now become mainstream, and has long since recovered from the disaster nearly a decade ago in which nine fans were trampled to death.

Roskilde, now in its 41st year, is going to great lengths to take its place not only as the largest, but as the most environmentally friendly and fan friendly festival in the world.

When ARVIKA, a Swedish music festival, went bankrupt and left disappointed ticket holders' festival-less, Roskilde announced that it will open its doors and welcome these fans in, free of charge. And the festival provides easy access to recycling facilities, including a special place to leave used camping equipment on the final day.

Of course, it really is all about the music, and excitement is building as fans wait to hear their favorites. But the sheer number of artists and bands taking the stage in such a short period of time makes it difficult for individual performers to stand out, and too many performances can quite literally get lost in the music.

Fortunately, that will not be the case for Gonga Sain & Mithu Sain, a Dholi drum group from Pakistan. Although the duo is scheduled to perform at 3:00 AM this Saturday morning, the early hour will not preclude either fans or new listeners from appreciating their inspiring talent.

Dholi drumming, popular in India and surrounding South East Asian nations, is a traditional and at one time popular component of the region's music. The fascinating cultural background and unique sound of the Dholi drum is enough to differentiate these musicians from the artist body at large.

But what makes the performance truly stand out is Gonga Sain - the deaf-mute who 'feels the beats through the loud vibrations they produce in the body.'

'His feeling for rhythmic and repetition is spectacular,' continued a description of this weekend's upcoming performance, 'and he is one of the most respected drummers in Pakistan.'

This little oasis of inspiration, a twist on the typical, won't be quickly forgotten at this year's Roskilde Festival.