WOMEX is entering into it's third day. If you've never been to a event like this, allow me to give you the nickle tour.

We spend the day at the Bella Center convention hall going to networking events, meetings and seminars. At night, we ride the Metro for 2 stops to the beautiful Copenhagen Concert Center to mingle and watch showcase performances. The Bella Center has WiFi...the concert hall does not?

NOTE TO WOMEX: WHOOPS

Now that I'm settled in for a breather and hooked in digitally (thanks Bella Center), let me point you in the direction of some great photos from last night.

My wife, Heather Weimer, is one of four official photographers for this years WOMEX conference. Her photos from last night can be found at http://www.heatherlweimer.com/womex2009.

I also recommend you check out the work of the other three WOMEX photographers:

Eric van Nieuwland - http://www.thedigitalphotoexperience.nl/

Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones - http://www.jljphotography.co.uk/gallery_278980.html

Jacob Crawfurd - http://www.crawfurd.com/womex/index.php

They are all great guys and their work is amazing. Take a peak!

Here is the background...

There has been only one old master of the Biram left. The youth is not interested any more. But when the musician Malam Mamane Barka, he himself a nomad from the Toubou tribe, heard about the Biram some years ago, he decided to stay with the old master to learn the Boudouma language and how to play the instrument. In 2002 he got a UNESCO scholarship to materialize his dream. And when he arrived on the Boudouma island he was warmly welcomed by the master who thought his instrument dead already. After many rituals of purification the old master agreed to educate Malam Mamane Barka the holy instrument and the lyrics of the mystical songs. As Barka himself is a son of the sand dunes, the old master gave him his last Biram as a gift. Malam Mamane Barka inherited with the BIRAM the knowledge of rituals and cultural heritage of the Boudouma. He is conscious about his responsibility according to the Boudouma and their spirit Kargila. After the legends Kargila is watching the Boudouma and cares about their culture and their situation.

Learn more at http://www.mamanebarka.com/