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| Happy custome |
Hello
Everyone
Fascinating
weekend of which I can but tell you a bit. On Friday we were at the Southbank
Centre for Jumoke Fashola and Friends, where we were entertained by the lady herself
as well as her friends including Proud to be African favourite Floetic Lara.
On
Saturday and Sunday we were at the Back2Black Festival at the Olds
Billingsgate, selling, listening to awesome music, meeting old friends and
making new ones!
For a fan
of African music this festival was essentially what heaven will sound like. The
Back2Black festival started in 2009 in a disused railway station in Rio de
Janeiro in Brazil with the aim of reinforcing the cultural connections between
Brazil and Africa, in fact the largest concentration of Yoruba speakers outside
Nigeria is Brazil, and in Lagos, Brazilian architecture and names still abound
from the descendants of returnees, so with the musical links, Brazilian and
African food, beautiful African and Brazilian women I can assure you it was a
goooooooooood weekend .
The festival
started on Friday with Macy Gray headlining. We attended the market hosted by Open the Gate on the Saturday and the festival
started off with the sublime Fatoumata Diawara on the main stage, killing us
with her energy and reminding us just why Mali and its beautiful culture is so
close to all our hearts particularly at this time. She was followed by the
incomparable Grammy award winning Hugh Masekela, who refused to allow his 73
years to dim him as he gave a barnstorming performance, with my favourite being
his rendition of Fela’s ‘Lady’, his version always reminds me of my youth as it
was a favourite in our house at the time, he ended up with his classic ‘Grazing
in the Grass’, ably supported by his excellent band. Honestly just those two
were worth the entrance money alone but it got better as they were followed by
Brazilian musicians Mart’nalia and then Criolo featuring Mulatu Astatke.
Fortunately
for me the market closed at 10.00pm allowing me to go up and shake my nyash
(and other body parts!) to Femi Kuti and the Positive Force! And to top it all
the super groovy DJ Gilles Petersen came on to give us good music to finish the
night, while Dele Sosimi and the Synchro System kept people going downstairs.
On the
Sunday Euro 2012 notwithstanding the venue was packed and sold out, the afternoon
started with blues singer Muntu Valdo. He was followed by the amazing
collaboration of Mali’s Toumani Diabate
and Brazils Arnaldo Antunes and Edgar Scandurraon the Main Stage, however down
on the Vault Stage our old friends from Mwalimu Express has set up there homely
family friendly fun complete with Oware tables, Childrens Yoga, books and
music. My afternoon was made by the utterly sublime music provided by Diabel
Cissoko on the kora and Ramon Goose on the guitar. Terrible businessman that I
am I abandoned my stall to soak it up. The video doesn’t do it justice but it
was heavenly. The adults played the traditional African game Oware provided by
The Oware Society, the children had African Yoga and storytelling by the
excellent Alim Kamara.
The afternoon
got better with a fascinating talk on Democracy and literature hosted by
Margaret Busby with Chimamanda Adichie and Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun.
The lively debate conducted French and English covered everything from the role
of the writer to the place of literature in democracy. As ever with Chimamanda
Adichie articulation
The
evening concluded with two gems Amadou and Mariam the Malian duo who for the
entire duration of their set gripped the crowd and didn’t let go, followed by
Festival host and former Brazilian Minister of Culture, Gileberto Gil.
Even after
he had finished the goodness didn’t end as Congolese band Jupiter and Okwess
International completely rocked the Vaults with their Bafenia Rock in fact some
of my fellow stall holders (no names!) abandoned their stalls to go and shake
their behinds!! Hmm!!
Well that
was the weekend that was, I hope to be able to tell you about the Literature
Festival at SOAS but hold this one for now and prepare for another super
internationally groovy week with literature and music par excellence.
Upcoming events:
Tuesday 3rd
July is veeeery busy with events and eventualities
The AfricaUtopia Festival is in full swing at the South Bank Centre, SE1 8XX with the
following events:
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| Amadou and Mariam |
At 6:00pm in the
Front Room of Queen Elizabeth Hall, Chicago based author, broadcaster and award-winning
Guardian columnist for, Gary Younge explores what it has really meant to have
an African in the White House at Putting the African into African American:Obama's presidency and what African Americans still needs to learn from Africa. As the son of a
Kenyan immigrant Barack Obama's challenges and opportunities have been
different from other African-American politicians, exposing the tensions both
within black America and the diaspora. This event is Free
At 6.30pm in the Level 5 Function Room of the Queen Elizabeth Hall is
the African
Writers' Evening chaired by novelist Nii Ayikwei Parkes (Ghana) in
which author/ journalists José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola) and Dinaw Mengestu (Ethiopia)
explore through readings and discussion the limitations of borders in the
imaginative landscape of the African writer. Tickets are £8.00 from here
At 8pm we see Senegalese sensation Baaba Maal in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with Word Sound Power. He will be performing alongside writers and poets like Lemn Sissay, Pauline Black, TJ Dema, Pedro Perez, Agnes Agboton, Bewketu Seyoum and our good friend Inua Ellams (busy fellow!!). Tickets from £10.00 from here
At 8pm we see Senegalese sensation Baaba Maal in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with Word Sound Power. He will be performing alongside writers and poets like Lemn Sissay, Pauline Black, TJ Dema, Pedro Perez, Agnes Agboton, Bewketu Seyoum and our good friend Inua Ellams (busy fellow!!). Tickets from £10.00 from here
7.45pm ‘Robben Island Bible’ is a play based on the true story of a copy of 'The Complete
Works of Shakespeare' that was smuggled into Robben Island by an inmate while
Nelson Mandela was incarcerated there and was passed between his fellow
prisoners, who memorised and wrote down extracts of the work. This story was
turned into a play by theatre director Matthew Hahn featuring extracts of
Shakespeare intercut with testimony of the prisoners. Extracts from the work
read by Chuk Iwuji, Vincent Ebrahim and Cornelius Macarthy. Before the reading,
Ashwin Desai will give a keynote talk based on his book 'Reading Revolution -
Shakespeare on Robben Island’. Tickets are £10.00
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| Another happy customer |
On 4th July between 9.30am
and 11.00am, African Foundation for Development (Afford) will be launching
their Africa Gives Initiative at Chatham House 10
St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LE. They aim to link young Africans in
the diaspora to share their experiences of Africa, $40 billion of remittances
flow back to Africa every year, this initiative seeks to find different
platforms to energise philantrophic giving among young Africans. The event is
chaired by Professor Catherina Pharoah, Co-Director, ESRC Centre for Charitable
Giving and Philanthropy with panellists Hadeel Ibrahim, (Mo Ibrahim
Foundation), Gibril Faal, Chair, (AFFORD), James Nyoro, (Rockefeller
Foundation)
Tony Elumelu, (Tony Elumelu
Foundation). The event is free, register here
Also on Wednesday the 4th, as part of events marking the
announcement of the 2012 Caine Prize for African Writing there will be a
seminar at the Anatomy Museum, 6th Floor, at Kings College, The Strand WC2R 2LS
London from 1pm to 4pm. Chaired by Zoe Norridge (King's College London) with Ranka
Primorac (University of Southampton), and Mpalive Msiska (Birckbeck College) as
panellists. If you would like to attend please email: robert@raittorr.co.uk.
At 7.45pm in the Purcell Room of the South Bank Centre is Nigeria
Now, with 2 brilliant Nigerian female writers Noo Saro-Wiwa,
(Transwonderland) and Chika Unigwe, (on Black Sisters Street, with a new novel
Night Dancer published this summer), explore the complexities of Nigeria and
discuss the role of the writer and activist in the country in the light of
recent history. Tickets are £10.00
At 8.00pm is another
special treat with Taj Mahal Grammy
award winning Blues and Roots multi-instrumentalist and composer at the Queen
Elizabeth Hall, tickets are from £10-£40. Not much more to say get involved!
At 9:30pm in the Purcell Room is the Africa
Sci-Fi
Screening which explores the subject of genre in African writing,
visual art and film, this event features discussion alongside screenings from
short films featured in the exhibition Superpower: Africa in Science Fiction at
the Arnolfini, Bristol.
On
Friday the 6th of July Atongo Zimba the Ghanaian Afro fusion
musician performs at Green Note, 106 Parkway, London, NW1 7AN. This versatile
musician has opened for many of Africa’s greats such as Angelique Kidjo and
Hugh Masekela so you lucky people get to see him for tickets starting from
£10.00 in advance and £12.00 on the door
On the
7th of July Afford will hold the main Africa Gives Conference on the
theme, ‘Building the Africa-Gives Platform’ at the Brunei Gallery, School of
Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London,
WC1H 0XG. The confirmed speakers are the Right Honourasble Chuka Umunna MP,
Shadow Secretary of State for Business,
Skills and Innovation, Herman Chinery-Hesse Founder and Chairman of SOFTribe,
Ghana and Ms Jacqueline Shaw of the Africa Fashion guide (and a great supporter
of Proud to be African Clothing!). The event starts at 8.30am and runs to
4.30pm with a series of workshops on workshops on: What features should be
incorporated in the Africa-Gives platform? How to stimulate and maintain
volunteering amongst young African? How to mobilise young Africans to raise
funds for African projects? How to expand diaspora involvement in corporations
and institutions working in Africa?. Book your place here and learn more about
Africa Gives here.
Between 12 and 4.00pm on Saturday
7th BritishBlackMusic.com/Black Music Congress will be hosting a
family friendly Sports and Community Day,
with quizs, games and activities hosted by Kwaku at Spectrums (Phoenix 2), 68 Lilburne Walk, St Raphaels Estate, Neasden, NW10 0TW
Between
5-10pm there is the Africa Gospel Music
Awards 2012 at The Hippodrome, North End Road, Golders Green, NW11 7RP.
Hosted by MC Mark with performances by Emmy Kosgei, Diana Hamilton, Makoma,
Four Kornerz, Wole Awolola, Taymee Tee, Rebecca, Iyobo Von Lierop, Hykerne
Kudinga, Atta Boafa, Kelechi Ify, Allen Caiquo and Ephraim. Tickets range from
£15.00 to £40.00 from here.
On
Sunday the 8th of July from 12
midday to 9.30pm is ZIMARTS Day with Stella Chiweshe, the Mbira Queen of
Zimbabwe Live at the V22 Workspace F-Block, The Biscuit Factory, 100 Clements Road
SE16 4DG this celebration of
contemporary and traditional Zimbabwean arts and culture at the V22 Summer
Club, in support of the Chivanhu Trust. with events, workshops, films
and food children have free admission, tickets are £7.00 in advance and there
will be a limited number of £10 tickets available at the door. Music from the
Mandingo Jazzmen and Munkinpure, kids workshops and movies
Between 7 and11.30pm is The
Gold Show at Walkabout Bar, Embankment, this event, will have comedy, poetry and dancing, There will be Rachell Kerr, Tunday the Saxophonist, Infecta and so much more as can be seen here, tickets are £6.00 and can be bought here
At 8.00pm there is the Kalakuta Afrobeat Band at the The Majestic Restaurant, 330 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8QH. Come down for some swinging Afrobeat!
7.00pm to 2 am on Sunday is FLOetic Lara's All Star Birthday Concert & Celebration at the Brixton Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, London SW9 6LH with Don-E, El Crisis, Nyarai, Toneo, Indigo, IDK, Sodg, Manic MC, Lyrical Healer, Tagz, Andrae Bentley, LeeN, Best Kept Secret, Adelaide Mackenzie, Alabama 3 all hosted by Best Kept Secrets AmeN NoiR
Tickets are £6 before 7:30pm and £8 after
Tickets are £6 before 7:30pm and £8 after
More than enough for now, till next week
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