I read with dismay a Facebook message from Miguel Santos, which regrets to inform us, that this year's Atlantic Waves festival, an annual promotion of exploratory Portuguese music in London, has been cancelled.

Here is the message in part:

--------------------
Subject: No more ATLANTIC WAVES!!!!!!

The festival is dead, long live the festival!

I am very sorry to tell you that the ATLANTIC WAVES festival belongs now to the past. I programmed 15 concert nights for the 2008 festival, the majority were censured and only 7 did finally happen. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has decided not to support again the festival, neither let me continue it outside the Foundation and therefore it will not happen again, leaving a big gap in the promotion of Portuguese music and musicians outside Portugal. I believe Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is being ill advised and that decision will make more damage than good but I will say no more about it here.

The good news is that RED ORANGE is doing a new festival called LIFEM: London International Festival of Exploratory Music, 04-07 Nov 09 and for further news you can join the group here: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?id=609007428&gv=12#/group.php?gid=41700687841
--------------------

Further reading, including quotes from Miguel Santos, can be read in the Ípsilon article posted later today...