Portand Ovations Features Occidental Brothers Dance Band, 10/8

Portland Ovations presents West African highlife revivalists, Occidental Brothers Dance Band International (OBDBI), on Friday, October 8th at Hannaford Hall on the Portland Campus of the University of Southern Maine. The concert begins at 8 p.m. and is part of a series of performances entitled Maine and Its Ties to Africa, intended to explore the greater Portland community's relationship with African culture.
 
"Last February, Ovations presented the Cape Verdean songstress, Maria de Barros, at Hannaford Hall as part of the Maine and Its Ties To Africa series, and the venue turned into a dance hall with people of all ages and backgrounds moving to the beat of Maria's uplifting music," states Ovations' Executive Director, Aimee Petrin. "We very much hope to recreate the joy of that fantastic evening with our presentation of OBDBI and encourage everyone to experience the sounds of these amazing musicians."
 
Born from the Chicago-based highlife revival movement spanning the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International blends soukous, Ghananian highlife, African jazz, rumba and other styles from Central and West Africa into an energetic concert experience. The tradition of their sound stems from the acoustic palmwine music of coastal towns in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria that progressed into big dance band music and on to African guitar band music over the past four decades. OBDBI is joined in their Portland Ovations' engagement by Congolese singer, Samba Mapangala, a legend of African music, making this a truly international event.
 
Ovations Offstage, continuing its efforts to enhance the community's experience with the live performing arts, hosts a free pre-performance lecture at Hannaford Hall, immediately preceding the October 8th concert. Chief Oscar Mokeme, Director of Portland's Museum of African Culture, discusses the tradition of African high energy dance music and relates it to his native Nigeria. Mokeme also explores the contemporary cultural life of Maine's growing African community. This lecture lasts from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
 
Ovations' presentation of Occidental Brothers Dance Band International is made possible, in part, by the media support from WMPG radio. The pre-performance lecture is made possible by support from the Maine Humanities Council. Tickets range from $25 for Portland Ovations Members to $28 for the general public. A limited number of $10 student tickets are available to any full-time student.
 
For tickets, visit PortTix, the Merrill Auditorium Box Office located at 20 Myrtle Street in Portland; call 207.842.0800; or visit the Ovations website at www.portlandovations.org. If supplies last, tickets will also be available in the lobby of Hannaford Hall, located on Bedford Street on the University of Southern Maine's Portland Campus, beginning approximately at 6 p.m. the night of the concert. Seating is general admission.
 
For high resolution photos of OBDBI visit the press link at www.portlandovations.org.