This article addresses the interceltic festivals of Porto (1986–2008) and Sendim in Terra de Miranda (since 2000), situated in northwestern and northeastern Portugal, respectively, from the perspective of European heritage festivals. It examines how these two festivals were used to promote tourism, urban regeneration, rural development, image-making, and place branding. We argue that the interceltic festivals of Porto and Sendim are entangled with the Europeanisation of Portugal, involving new possibilities for identification with Europe’s Atlantic fringe, a space that is symbolised by the Celtic imaginary.

Damaru is a Singaporean Indian folk drumming ensemble that promotes pan-Indian identity and Indian folk drumming in the city-state. This article examines how Damaru navigates and carves a niche in Singapore’s multicultural milieu with the concept of a pan-Indian folk drumming ensemble, and how drummers create artistic products that engage an audience of different sociocultural backgrounds. An analysis of two of Damaru’s rhythmic compositions suggests that drumming, mixing Indian folk drums and rhythmic patterns, and performing the rhythmic patterns in sequence have helped Damaru’s rhythmic compositions reach a broader audience, enabling the ensemble to win state grants and performance opportunities.

This article critically considers how the musical piece, “Al-Burda,” has introduced ground-breaking formal and rhythmic innovations within Arab contemporary traditional music. I explore the centrality of Mustafa Said’s musical adaptation of Arabic prosody in generating new rhythmic modes whilst highlighting Said’s claims of continuity with an Arab literary and musical tradition through the musical adaptation of the poetics of mu’arada, which means building upon pre-existing models. This article draws upon postcolonial theory as a fundamental tool of analysis for the underpinning socio-political commentary present at every stage of creation and production of “Al-Burda.”