African Music Festival in Prospect Park Saturday - lineup includes King Sunny Adé (who played Rothbury - pics)

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Posted in To Do | music | pictures on July 17, 2009

African Music Festival in Prospect Park Saturday - lineup includes King Sunny Adé (who played Rothbury - pics)

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

King Sunny Adé @ Rothbury 2009
King Sunnyade

Celebrate Brooklyn!'s annual all-day festival of music, food and crafts features a lineup of music selected to keep dancers moving into the night. This year's headliner is the great King Sunny Adé of Nigeria. The bill also includes a rare U.S. appearance by South Africa's Freshly Ground; The Mandingo Ambassadors, from NYC by way of Guinea, whose music "has been structured to make you feel good" (The New York Times); the wild Senegalese drum troupe Cheikh M'Baye & Sing Sing; the powerful Brooklyn-born, Ghanaian vocalist Abena Koomson; and whirling traditional Egyptian dancer, Yasser Darwish.

King Sunny Adé, who plays juju music, "a Nigerian style characterized by interlocking guitars, talking drums and lap-steel," will also be inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame at the free concert. He recently played a set at the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival. More pictures from that, with Saturday's times and videos of King Sunny Adé, below...

King Sunnyade

Celebrate Brooklyn's African Music Festival, June 18th schedule

* 2:00 - Cheikh M'Baye & Sing Sing
* 3:00 - Yasser Darwish
* 3:40 - Abena Koomsom
* 4:40 - The Mandingo Ambassadors
* 6:00 - Freshly Ground
* 7:30 - King Sunny Ade

KING SUNNY ADE in Atlanta '04