Fela Kuti is one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. The godfather of afrobeat would've been 72 years old today. It also happens to be the birthday of local concert promoter and Fela fanatic Brandon Badillo, founder of Bemba Entertainment. The dude has put on a lot of great shows around town, including Xemumba Fest, boat cruises, World Music Night and tributes to Nina Simone and Bill Withers. He's taken this shared birthday opportunity to put on another kick-ass tribute night. So come Felabrate, as a handful of local bands put their own spin on Fela classics all night long. I'm most excited about the Bemba Beat Arkestra, a supergroup featuring singer-songwriter Kalu James and members of Hard Proof Afrobeat. The show gets started on Friday at 9 with a $10 cover. Watch a clip of Hard Proof Afrobeat performing Fela's "My Lady Frustration" below.
Also on Friday, two local bands celebrate releases at the Mohawk. Country-tinged indie rockers Frank Smith have a new album dropping, while psych-rockers Smoke & Feathers have a new EP out. Singer-songwriter Danny Malone opens the show. I'd also stop by Beerland, as Ghost Knife (a Riverboat Gamblers side project) plays its last show for a while.
0 comments:
Post a Comment