The Hear & Now: Chris' 6 picks for the Richmond Folk Festival

This is my favorite festival of the year. As a member of the programming committee for the Richmond Folk Festival, you may think that I am obligated to say that, but as a lifelong music enthusiast, my infinitesimal input doesn't preclude me from being first and foremost a fan of the annual event rather than a simple unscrupulous shill.

To be frank, my involvement with the festival over the years is one of my proudest accomplishments as a human being. Again, I have to stress that I'm only a tiny part of the giant whole that makes the festival happen every year, and even if I didn't have the supreme honor of offering my precious opinions on the event, I would gleefully boast to whoever would listen how glorious the festival is.

Here are but six reasons for my giddy enthusiasm:

The Mighty Diamonds

Friday: 7:30-8:45 p.m., Community Foundation Stage

Saturday: 4:15-5:15 p.m., Dominion Dance Pavilion; 9:45-10:30 p.m., Altria Stage

Most people's knowledge of Jamaican music begins and ends with Bob Marley. But as great as he was, Marley is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the deep, soulful resonance of the music made by our island neighbors to the south. The Mighty Diamonds, the internationally acclaimed Jamaican harmony vocal trio consisting of Donald "Tabby" Shaw, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson and Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson, are a living, breathing history lesson and the last from the 1970s golden era of Jamaican vocal groups that included Toots & The Maytals, Culture, The Congos and Black Uhuru still performing today in their original incarnation. Formed in Kingston in 1969, the group embodies the gospel-tinged, R&B harmony that influenced the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and the English punk movement of the late 1970s (The Clash, The Ruts, Police, etc.) with their effortless vocal grace and defiant, Rastafarian rebel stance.

Imamyar Hasanov and Pejman Hadadi

Saturday: 1:30-2:15 p.m., Martin's/Union First Market Bank Family Stage

Sunday: 1:15-2 p.m., MWV Stage; 3-3:45 p.m., Martin's/Union First Market Bank Family Stage

A master of the Azerbaijani kamancha (spiked fiddle), Imamyar Hasanov blends traditional Azeri melodic and compositional sensibilities with the pitch, speed and meter of Western classical music to create a hypnotic hybrid of music born at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. He's joined by Iranian percussionist Pejman Hadadi on the tombak (goblet drum) and daf (frame drum). These two dynamic virtuosos create enchanting cerebral meditations that hit the mind and body with equal aplomb.

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

Saturday: 8:15-9:15 p.m., Dominion Dance Pavilion

Sunday: 2:15-3 p.m., Altria Stage; 5-6:15 p.m., Dominion Dance Pavilion

Keeping the vibrant ancestral heritage of Mali's storytelling roots alive and well into the 21st century are Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba. Born into a family of famous griots (West African storytellers and musicians) in the Bambara tradition, bandleader Bassekou Kouyate leads his infectious, polyrhythmic group with the ngoni, a fretless West African spike lute and ancestor of the five-string banjo. He has played with a diverse array of talent over the years, including Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt and Bono, and contributed to "Savane," the last studio recording by late, great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, as well as to Senegalese singer and percussionist Youssou N'Dour's 2007 release, "Rokku mi Rokka." The ensemble's celebrated 2010 recording, "I Speak Fula (Next Ambiance)," is a stunning tour de force of modern African melodic energy.

Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera

Friday: 7:45-9 p.m., MWV Stage

Saturday: 12:30-1:15 p.m., Martin's/Union First Market Bank Family Stage; 5-5:45 p.m., MWV Stage

A dazzling cornucopia of visual and musical stimulations, the mélange of song, dance, mime, acrobatics and martial arts featured in the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera is a fascinating glimpse into the secretive world of Chinese culture. The globe-trotting group was founded in New York City in 1988 by Qi Shu Fang, the opera star who rose to prominence in her native China. Her full-bodied soprano, jaw-dropping martial arts abilities and ground-breaking stewardship of the internationally known troupe at the forefront of promoting equality for the women of China make her one of the most important and influential entertainers in the world today.

Chatham County Line

Saturday: 1-1:45 p.m., Altria Stage; 4:30-5:15 p.m., The Community Foundation Stage

Sunday: 4:30-5:30 p.m., The Community Foundation Stage

Playing music born of the Appalachian tradition, North Carolinian bluegrass quartet Chatham County Line embraces the past with an eye always set to the future. World-class pickers known for their pithy, front-porch honesty, this collection of relative youngsters channels the legendary earthy grit and everyman concerns of Bill Monroe and Doc Watson for the post-modern generation. Their alluring emotive charm is sure to please finicky purists of the form as well as the uninitiated. If the Carter Family were playing today, they'd be sharing bills with Chatham County Line.

Los Tres Reyes

Saturday: Noon-12:45 p.m., Altria Stage; 3:30-4:15 p.m., Community Foundation Stage

Sunday: 12:15-1 p.m., Community Foundation Stage

No one does the sad and beautiful better than Mexican bolero trio Los Tres Reyes. Formed by twin brothers Gilberto and Raul Puente in 1957, the duo later added Hermando Avilez of New York's romantic balladeers Trio Los Panchos to create one of most enduring and successful groups in the history of Mexican music. Their elegiac themes for the lovelorn are beautifully conveyed on guitar and requinto (small classical guitar) with stoic tenderness. The conspicuous three-part harmonies that are the group's enduring trademark shape and embellish the sparse and carefully placed arrangements, giving any song they sing a quiet, unbowed dignity. Enthrallingly bittersweet, Los Tres Reyes takes the end of love and makes it something to fall in love with.