Afropop Night Live: Kotoko Brass & New Nile Orchestra
When:
Friday, Mar 04, 2022 8:30p -
11:00p
Friday, Mar 04, 2022 8:30p -
11:00p
Where:
Tufts University Granoff Music Center
20 Talbot Ave
Medford, MA 02155
Admission:
FREE
Categories:
Festivals & Fairs, Kid Friendly, Music, Nightlife, Performing Arts, University
Event website:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1097013584408483
Afropop Night Live is Boston's Afrocentric live music + dance party!
March 4th 2022 we will feature Kotoko Brass (Boston/Ghana) and New Nile Orchestra (Vermont/Ethiopia) to bring some premiere local African artists and dance music to the doorstep of our vibrant Tufts’ community. This event will be held in Fisher Hall at the Granoff Music Center.
FREE (no tickets required) and OPEN to the PUBLIC. Due to COVID regulations, live audience attendees at Tufts Music events must present a Tufts ID or Covid Vaccination Card showing that they have been vaccinated and boosted.
The series has featured local, national, & international African, Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean music. We welcome everyone to celebrate and unify our unique and diverse Boston community.
Kotoko Brass:
Kotoko Brass melds the beautifully complex traditional drumming of Central Ghana, the sturdy bass and keyboards of the Caribbean, and the joyous horns of New Orleans to forge a sound the Boston Globe has described as “propulsive, infectious party music.” Coming together as Kotoko Brass feels like a superpower. When the traditional Ghanaian percussion and driving drum set grooves meet the steady rhythm section and jubilant horn melodies, we can’t help but dance. While each member plays an equal and vital role in Kotoko Brass, the drums are at the heart of the band. The tradition of Asante drumming is intimately intertwined with dance in West Africa, and our audiences experience that first-hand. That instinctual link between drumming and dancing exists in nearly all indigenous traditions, and it informs the harmony and melody in all of our music. At its core, our music is a celebration of tradition, diversity, and unity.
New Nile Orchestra:
New Nile Orchestra is New England’s finest Ethiopian funk. Ethiopian singer/dancer Kiflu Kidane and his band New Nile Orchestra have been performing their high energy brand of Afropop for more than 20 years across New England. The infectious rhythms from the band combined with Kidane’s remarkable dancing and singing inspire even the most committed wall flower to get up and dance to the traditional Ethiopian melodies and funk rhythms.
Afropop Night Live was founded in 2014 by Christiana Usenza (former Tufts Ethnomusicology masters’ student and Tufts lecturer of Ethnomusicology & African music). It began at Johnny D’s in Davis Square and has rotated venues throughout Boston including The Middle East, Lizard Lounge, and the Lily Pad. We have featured acts such as Grammy Winners The Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, and Grammy-nominated Rocky Dawuni, & many amazing Boston local acts such as Lamine Toure and Group Saloum, and Kina Zore.
