West Africa in West Kortright! Sponsored by FrieslandCampina Domo
Friday July 6 -
6–7:30PM Drumming Workshop $10 ($8 with dance admission)
7–8PM Picnic Dinner or enjoy a delicious West African Dinner
(Pre-paid/$18 to benefit The WKC)
“seamlessly blending soukous, Afro-beat and more traditional West African styles with roots-reggae, dub, funk and more on a variety of buoyant, hope-filled songs”—KEXP (NPR, Seattle)
Their history:
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars are a group of musicians that have risen above the nightmare of civil war that tore apart their beautiful West African country of Sierra Leone. In the 1990’s they were forced to leave Sierra Leone, settling in refugee camps in neighboring Guinea. Ruben Koroma and his wife Grace found themselves in the Kalia refugee camp. When they realized they wouldn’t be going home any time soon, they found ways to entertain their fellow refugees with music.
They joined up with guitarist Francis John Langba (aka Franko) and bassist Idrissa Bangura (aka Mallam), and other musicians in thecamp they had known before the war. The group began performing with old, used equipment that had been donated by a Canadian relief agency and the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars was born. After the war back in Sierra Leone, they met other returning musicians who joined forces with the band. The tracks that they recorded, along with unplugged recordings made in the refugee camps became their debut album, Living Like a Refugee (2006, ANTI- Records).
Their musical career was launched and soon the band was playing for huge,mesmerized audiences in New York’s Central Park SummerStage, Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival, and the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. The band’s 2010 album, Rise & Shine (Cumbancha Records) became the #1 Album of the Year on the World Music Charts Europe. Their latest album, Radio Salone (Cumbancha Records), is inspired by the retro sounds of old school reggae, funky African grooves, and deep tribal chants that they heard blasting out of radios in their younger years in Sierra Leone. This album represents a new musical high point for the group, confirming that Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars isone of the best bands in Africa, and the world. In the middle of their world tour for the new album, the All Stars look forward to bringing their message of hope and celebration to longtime fans and new audiences.
This is an outdoorconcert under a big tent, rain or shine. People are asked to bring their own lawn seating. The cost of the Drumming Workshop is $10 or $8 with a Galaticket. The Gala Dance is $22, $11 for 19 and under. The price for the West African Picnic Dinner is $18 and MUST be pre-ordered.
For more information, call (607) 278-5454, or visit www.westkc.org/performances/Gala. The WestKortright Centre is located at 49 West Kortright Church Road, East Meredith,NY, halfway between Oneonta, Delhi, and Stamford. Follow signs from State Route 23 in Davenport Center, or State Route 10 east of Delhi. For more travel directions, visit the website.
