Fela Kuti News

Building off the momentum of WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE's acclaimed 2016-17 season, which boasted a record number of sold-out shows, WMI announces an ever-expansive 2017-18 program: over 40 performances by remarkable talents from 28 countries across six continents. The New York Times reports on the new season here.

California-based powerhouse duo Lafa Taylor & Aabo will release their collaborative album FEEL next Friday, July 21st on Mixto Records.

To celebrate the release of his new track “Fela Kuti, ” Wyclef Jean has launched a dance challenge with his song “Fela Kuti” today (now #FelaFriday) to run thru July 21st where he has challenged his fans and his fellow artist friends to show him their '#FelaFootwork'.

Sydney Fringe Festival - New South Wales' largest independent arts festival - today announced its 2017 Festival Ambassadors and the next wave of program highlights set to enliven inner Sydney from 1- 30 September 2017. For the first time in 2017, Fringe will be presenting a new Festival Hub, a 7000m2 warehouse at Sydney Park in Alexandria, transformed into multiple performance and exhibition spaces. During Sydney Fringe Festival, the hub will be home to immersive light, art and theatre experiences, music and theatre performances, a 200-seat vegan feast, a masquerade ball and numerous installations.

Wyclef Jean has announced the release of his first full-length album in eight years, Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee, out September 15 via Legacy Recordings.

Five free weekends of the best and brightest entertainment from some of the UK's leading arts and culture organisations will once again arrive at London's South Bank this summer; The Glory, HOME, Manchester, WOMAD, Rambert and the National Theatre each 'take over' the River Stage for a weekend throughout July and August.

California-based powerhouse duo Lafa Taylor & Aabo are preparing to release their debut collaborative LP FEEL on July 21st via Mixto Records.

Concerts including Angelique Kidjo's Remain in Light, Rumer with special guest Dionne Warwick, Nick Lowe's Quality Rock 'n' Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's Suite for Ma Dukes, Natalia Lafourcade, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble in a Tribute to Pauline Oliveros

In a time when people need to come together more than ever, Big Mean Sound Machine is spreading positivity through communal dance by creating music that moves people of all ages and backgrounds.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band have released their latest album So It Is today via Legacy Recordings.

California-based powerhouse duo Lafa Taylor & Aabo share their track “Falling” feat. Goapele today via Billboard. The song comes off their forthcoming debut album FEEL, a remarkable collaborative project that pairs classic house with the emotive nature of R&B and the soul of hip-hop.

In a time when people need to come together more than ever, Big Mean Sound Machine is spreading positivity through communal dance by creating music that moves people of all ages and backgrounds.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band have announced a special performance with Beck at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on July 11, 2017. Tickets go on sale April 14 and will be available here.

Written and directed by Adura Onashile, Expensive Shit is not afraid to show an uncomfortable truth. Going back and forth between Lagos in 1994 and Glasgow in 2013, the play revolves around Tolu, a toilet attendant, and her relationship to women and men around her.

Three-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Angélique Kidjo returns to Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Friday, May 5, at 8:00 p.m., for the world premiere performance of Remain in Light, her reimagined take on the Talking Heads' iconic album.

Afrodisiac is Colorado's all-star tribute to Fela Kuti featuring Amayo of Antibalas, Dave Watts of The Motet and more. The show is set for the Fox Theatre on Saturday, June 17, 2017. 

Town Hall and (Le) Poisson Rouge are proud to present the Jazz Epistles, featuring Abdullah Ibrahim and Hugh Masekela live in New York City for the first time on South African Freedom Day, April 27th. Half a century after recording South Africa's landmark jazz album, Jazz Epistle, Verse 1, these original bebop legends reunite for their first North American performance at the Town Hall at 123 West 43rd Street in New York. 

On March 31 2017, the steadily rising troubadour Jeb Loy Nichols presents his classic-in-the-making new album “Country Hustle,” via on his own label City Country City and Jullian Records.

As the world tries to adjust to its new order and the new reality of post-fake-truth-news politics, Soho Theatre's spring and summer programme offers some hope for young hearts and old souls. The seasons include the premiere of the 2015 Verity Bargate Award winning Roller Diner - a savage-sweet rock'n'roll tragicomedy by first time playwright Stephen Jackson, and Touch - the fourth exciting new collaboration between Soho Theatre and DryWrite. 

Preservation Hall Jazz Band have announced the release of their new album, So It Is, the septet's second release featuring all-new original music, coming April 21 via Legacy Recordings.