Saturday, Sep 25 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

at Cal Expo Fairgrounds, Sacramento, CA
Price: $5.00 general admission/ children under 5 are free
Phone: (916) 441-1133
Age Suitability: All Ages

Come celebrate the diversity of African cultures with traditional and contemporary music performances, drumming, cultural dances, a parade representing Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa and more.
Arts, crafts, paintings, jewelry and products from African businesses will be on show and available for sale.

While celebrating the arts and culture, the Festival aims to encourage trade and business opportunities for African businesses and entrepreneurs.

Festival Flyer

Event Website

Via the Sacramento Bee online calendar.

I believe there will be djembé and other percussion and a few guest appearances. This should be a fun show.

If that’s not enough, some of the best ice cream in the Bay Area is right around the corner at the Fairfax Scoop. Highly recommended.

For more African music listings, visit the San Francisco Bay Area African Music Calendar.

Update: I originally posted that this show was on Friday, not Thursday. Hope this didn’t cause too much confusion.

Lots more concert listings at the San Francisco Bay Area African Music Calendar.

August 8 2010 7:00PM to 11:30PM
Don Quixote’s International Music Hall
6275 Highway 9, Felton, CA 95018

About the artist:

Feye Felicite Tchaco affectionately known as “Fely” is a music sensation in Cote d’Ivoire . (The Ivory Coast , West Africa ) She began to sing, dance, and paint early in her childhood. Her father encouraged her to pursue painting, but young Fely was more interested in the adventure of entertainment. Soon she was escaping from home to sing with bands. Her first album ‘Amour Perdu’ (Lost Love) released in 1996 in Abidjan was an instant success and it immediately launched her career as singer and dancer.

Her second album ‘Aude a l’Amour’ (Ode to Love) recorded and released in Santa Monica, California in 1998 received rave reviews and enthusiastic reception in Cote d’Ivoire where the album was a huge success. As her popularity became evident, she toured West Africa and France performing for delighted fans. Her third album ‘De Zere Gnan’, (Homage to our Forefathers ) was recorded with World-Class musicians from Africa, United States , and Brazil . Fely sings in French, English, and various African popular Dialects.

Despite the variety of languages, the emotional power of her music transcends cultural borders. She has developed her own distinctive sound by pooling her various musical strengths in the mix of African rhythm, Latin, and Jazz.  Her new album ‘Awareness’ is receiving a strong response already; Fely’s Talent and ability to sing the many genres is resonating on the global music scene. 

Banning Eyre of Afropop Worldwide has a review of their recent album Tarkat Tajje (Let’s Go!) here:

The band formed in 2004, and this their 3^rd release finds them at ease and in excellent form, and thoughtful.  The song texts are rooted in local concerns—drought, deforestation, the education of children.  But now, seeing themselves as ambassadors to the world, the songwriters try to apply their ideas on a global scale, addressing “those who are leading the world.”  This is a music of tremendous sincerity and directness.  Translated to words on a page, the songs may appear a little simplistic, even naïve.  But experienced simply as sound and sentiment, they are clear, dry-eyed, and profoundly affecting.

See more music listings on the Bay Area African Music Calendar.

This upcoming show at the Freight looks great. The musicians are also teaching a set of workshops. No musical experience necessary!

Renold & Caution Shonhai, Erica Azim
Sunday, August 08, 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm)
renowned mbira playing brothers of Zimbabwe
$18.50 advance / $19.50 at door
Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
2020 Addison Street
Berkeley CA 94704
510-644-2020
www.freightandsalvage.org

Mbira music has been used by the Shona people of Zimbabwe in religious and secular ceremonies for over a millennium. The instrument, made of two dozen metal keys mounted on a wood soundboard inside a resonating calabash gourd and played with the thumbs, produces music that combines entrancing melodies with invigorating polyphony and polyrhythms.

Renold and Caution Shonhai are brothers who play the ancient Shona mbira in traditional Zimbabwean ceremonies. Caution, the older of the two, is a traditional healer and herbalist, and is also the medium of their great-grandfather’s spirit, allowing him to play in the wonderful style of this great mbira player. The Shonhai brothers respect and follow the Shona traditions that their family has followed, generation after generation. They are also fluent in English, and enjoy sharing their music (mbira, singing, drumming, hosho rattles), dance, and culture.

Berkeley’s Erica Azim fell in love with Shona mbira music when she first heard it at the age of 16. In 1974, she became one of the first Americans to study mbira in Zimbabwe, and her teachers have included many of Zimbabwe’s top mbira masters past and present, including Forward Kwenda, with whom she has appeared on the Freight stage. Erica currently records, performs, and leads mbira workshops throughout the U.S. and directs the non-profit organization MBIRA, which provides financial support to Zimbabwean mbira players and instrument makers.

Renold & Caution will be teaching a workshop on Traditional Zimbabwean Songs w/ Renold & Caution Shonhai on Sunday, August 15, 1:30-3:00. Erica will be teaching Introduction to Zimbabwean Mbira, also on Sunday, August 15, 3:30-5:30 pm.

Visit Mbira.org for information on Renold & Caution and Erica.

Symphony of Koras Featuring Ousseynou Kouyate, Karamo Susso, & More
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Doors at 8:30 pm; Show at 9:00 pm
$12 / $10 students (w/valid ID)

Crazy. The kora is my favorite instrument, but I’m used to hearing it played solo or in a band with other instruments. This should be really interesting.

If you’ve never seen Oussenou Kouyaté, he is pretty much our unofficial griot for the Bay Area, an incredibly charismatic and energetic singer, dancer, and performer. Karamo Susso is an incredibly talented young musician from The Gambia, who learned his art in Bamako, Mali from some of the best kora players in the world.

The Boston Herald says this about the duo:

Though it’s been more than a decade since the Brockton-based Mendes Brothers released an album, their skills remain undiminished. Prior outings have sought to update the West African/Portuguese/Caribbean hybrid of Cape Verde with hip-hop, calypso, reggae and other current flavors. Not so on “Porton De Regresso 1.” Relying on traditional sounds with touches of synthesizers and horns, the brothers focus on their familial harmonies and lyrics, which celebrate the 550th anniversary of Cape Verde and its pioneering role in music, culture and race relations. True to form, the Mendes Brothers never let the words get in the way of a thoroughly enjoyable warm-weather party.

Head to their MySpace page to sample their music.

Madou Sidiki Diabaté, kora player from Mali, will be playing Ashkenaz on May 6. He is from an extraordinary music family, and the little brother of arguably the best kora player in the world, Toumani Diabaté. Watching this video, I can see that he not only some serious chops himself, but also an instrument of extraordinary (western?) craftsmanship:

The next week, Dusu Mali Band will be playing: “Ibrahim Kelly (nephew of Ali Farka Touré) combines his Malian roots with a Pan African fusion of jazz, blues, funk, and electric sound. Dusu Mali Band brings high energy, love, and conscious music to you.” Funky desert trance stuff:

Good couple of weeks for Malian music with a pedigree! For more great music, check the Bay Area African Music Calendar.

Angelique Kidjo, the dynamic songstress from Benin, kicks things off on June 20. (For more African concerts, check the San Francisco Bay Area African Music Calendar. And if you have any shows to add to the calendar, please email me!)

Another band I’m excited about is Caravan Palace. Seductive blend of swing, gypsy jazz, and electronica.

Here’s my advice if you go: get there early, bring a blanket, a thermos of coffee, and the Sunday paper.

The ensemble is a group of students from one of Botswana’s premiere secondary schools. From the press release on the school’s website:

The award-winning Maru-a-Pula marimba band will come from Botswana to the Pacific Northwest in April 2010 to raise funds for  orphan scholarships. We need your support to make this tour a success.

The ten-piece marimba band will perform a celebration of music and cultural exchange, raising awareness of a continent’s struggles while looking to a future of hope and prosperity.

Botswana has one of the highest AIDS rates in the world and currently has more than 30,000 AIDS orphans. The school now funds 30 full orphan scholarships and hopes to raise the money to fund 60 full scholarships by 2010.

There is something about marimba music that is just so uplifting and infectious. Check out this video of them practicing: