MUMBAI: Indian music lovers can look forward to a musical treat as the 12th annual Chicago World Music Festival to be held from 21-30 September has announced a three day event titled India Calling!. The show opens with a free concert featuring Zakir Hussain and special guest sitarist Niladri Kumar.

The festival is one of the largest and longest running festival of International music in the United States and it returns this year with over 80 artists at 30 venues throughout Chicago.

Talking to Radioandmusic.com about the festival and his performance Niladri Kumar said, "It's a learning experience to be on the same stage as Ustad Zakir Hussain who is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians. Whether it is a small festival or a major one like this, his presence is enough to delight the music fans."

Presented by Incredible India and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the three-day India Calling! festival will feature free music concerts, arts exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, dance performances, yoga and meditation classes and a handicrafts village.

As a part of the Indian extravaganza, the event will also see Ronu Majumdar and Vidwan Mysore Manjunath with Ramdas Palsule and Vidwan Arjun Kumar performing. India Classical Music Society Chicago will also bring Aashish Khan (India) and Alam Khan (India) with Swapan Chaudhuri (India) who will pay "A Tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar & Baba Allaudin Khan" at the Chicago Cultural Center on 24 September.

The other performances this year will include performances by Kha??ra Arby (Sarahan desert rhythms from Mali), Mahala Rai Banda (high energy gypsy sounds from Romania), Razia Said (a blend of African music and contemporary R&B from Madagascar), Pansori Brecht (a Korean narrative musical inspired by the work of Bertolt Brecht), Rajeev Taranath & Nayan Ghosh (top Indian classical musicians), Oreka TX (Basque masters of percussion instrument chalaparta) among many others.

The city-wide, multi-venue, week-long festival has attracted over a half million concertgoers and has presented more than 500 artists and ensembles from over 75 countries since it began in 1999. This 2010 festival includes nearly twice as many artists as previous editions.