New Orleans-based musical group Blato Zlato has been selected for the 2023 Western Arts Alliance Performing Arts Discovery (PAD) Showcase program, according to an announcement made on Wednesday. Blato Zlato is a Balkan-influenced band that focuses on Bulgarian folk songs and compositions, and they are the only band from New Orleans selected for the program.

The PAD Showcase program, launched in 2015 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), is designed to promote U.S. performing artists to international programmers, festival directors, and venue managers. Out of 200 applications, only 25 artists were selected to participate in the 2023 PAD Showcase program after rigorous review from a panel of experienced performing arts professionals nationwide.

Blato Zlato is a contemporary folk ensemble that embodies the evolution of folk music. It intersects with the immigrant experience of building a new life in America while retaining the cultural practices and traditions of members’ Eastern European ancestry and heritage. Based in New Orleans with members in Bulgaria, California, and New Mexico, Blato Zlato has gained a loyal international following after touring in the U.S. and Europe, including as a 2022 SXSW Showcase Artist.

The group has been featured several times on Bulgarian National Television and Radio and has appeared on Folk Radio U.K., NYC Radio Live, and the Village Voice. In 2019, Blato Zlato released their anticipated sophomore album, In The Wake, which charted at #33 on the Transglobal World Music Chart’s 2019-2020 Top 100 Albums. The band will also perform at the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

“We are thrilled and honored to be selected for the 2023 PAD Showcase program,” said Annalisa Kelly, vocalist for Blato Zlato. “This is an incredible opportunity to share our music and culture with audiences worldwide, and we can’t wait to see where this journey takes us.”

The selected musical groups and artists hail from New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, Portland, Philadelphia, and other cities across the United States. The PAD Showcase program will provide Blato Zlato with a platform to showcase its unique sound and talent to international audiences while creating opportunities for American artists to perform overseas.