Guest post by Andrea Llewellyn
Afrikadey! is back and taking over the Calgary Downtown with a vengeance. Entering their third decade as a festival, Afrikadey! has successfully consolidated their presence, indeed Africa is alive and present here in Calgary, Alberta.
The Calgary Folk Music Festival featured several African groups that were a hit this year (Wazimbo, Shad, Blitz the Ambassador, Élage Diouf). If you liked what they were laying down check out Afrikadey! for more of the good stuff.
What is there not to love? With free noon hour concerts, various workshops at the National Music Centre, an impressive symposium at the Central Branch of the Public Library, a three course gala/fundraiser at the Westin, a fashion show of international grandeur at Eau Claire Market, and of course their day in the sun at Prince’s Island Park.
Afrikadey! is an exclamation that Africa is alive and well! So events are not just one day but over August 5th - 11th, with the main event on Saturday August 11th!
Event Details: Prince’s Island Park - August 11th, 2012 10am to 10pm tickets: $25/Adults $20/Youth - FREE/Seniors and children 12 and under
The star-studded lineup of top tier African artists includes:
- Alpha Yaya Diallo, a musician from Guinea who brings fluid melodic lines and compelling grooves to the stage with his acoustic and electric guitars
- Beatrice Byakika channels her East African musical roots and fuses those sensibilities with a love of contemporary pop and R& B
- Dele Sosimi, the Afrobeat luminary who made his mark in Fela Cuti’s Egypt 80 band in 1979 will bring his own Afrobeat stylings to the stage
- Emmanuel Jal translates his challenging child soldier past in Sudan to rhythmic hip hop
- Krar Collective unveils the traditions of Ethiopia with a contemporary edge
- Oliver Mtukudzi AKA Tuku lays down his husky Zimbabwean vocals; and
- Omara “Bombino” Moctar performs his electrifying jams of Tuareg resistance and rebellion
See www.Afrikadey.com for more details on specific events!
Andrea Llewellyn is a writer, and event coordinator living in Calgary who has written for Beatroute, The Gauntlet and more.
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