Posts Tagged ‘macy gray’

The acclaimed Brazilian festival Back2Black – founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2009 – comes to London’s atmospheric Old Billingsgate market on the weekend of June 29-July 1 for three days of the cream of black musical and cultural talent in a celebration of African roots in music and culture.

Part of the London 2012 Festival, the event is held over three stages of live music and is hosted by and stars the legendary Brazilian musical and cultural figure Gilberto Gil. He presides over a veritable who’s who of African and African diaspora talent. There is Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté in his latest cross-cultural collaboration with Brazilian rock legends Arnaldo Artunes and Edgard Scandurra.

Other Malian delights include Amadou & Mariam, Vieux Farka Touré and the rising star Fatoumata Diawara. The African legends also include South African jazzman Hugh Masekela, Nigerian Afro-beat hair Femi Kuti and veteran Ethio-jazz master Mulatu Astatke in collaboration with Brazilian hip-hop-soul star Criolo.

Top names from the diaspora include US soul legend Macy Gray, UK dub-hip-hop star Roots Manuva, Brazilian MPB samba-rocker Jorge Ben Jor and the Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.

The Back2Black festival has been staged for three successful years at the stunning setting of the disused Leopoldina railway station in Rio, and will return there again on August 24-26 after this first foray outside of Brazil.

Don’t forget to check out our Back2Black sampler CD that comes free with our last issue June 2012 (#84). You can still order copies of the issue here.

For more information, please visit: www.back2blackfestival.com.br

Tags: amadou & mariam, amadou and mariam, back2black, back2black festival, criolo, fatoumata diawara, gilberto gil, Hugh Masekela, linton kwesi johnson, macy gray, Mulatu Astatke, roots manuva, toumani diabate.

Photo by Joao Wainer

Back2Black Festival, a celebration of the African roots in music and culture, is coming to town as part of the London 2012 festivities and will take place in Old Billingsgate Market in East London from June 29 to July 1.

Launched in Rio de Janeiro in 2009, the annual festival has established itself as one of the foremost cultural events in Brazil. Back2Black explores new ways of presenting music and aims to entertain, raise awareness and further cultural exchange, bringing Brazil back in touch with its African heritage. 

This first London Back2Black festival features an impressive line-up and emphasises UK-African connections and communities including Afro-Caribbean artists and brings together a heady mix of different traditions and musical genres. Artists include Gilberto Gil (pictured), Hugh Masekela, Toumani Diabaté, Marcelo D2, Roots Manuva, Amadou & Mariam, Fatoumata Diawara, and Macy Gray to name a just a few. 

The festival is produced by the Barbican, Zoocom Events and Serious and will also include talks, debates, exhibitions, drumming displays and workshops involving young musicians from East London and the Pracatum School from Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

For more information or to book your tickets, visit the Back2Black Festival website. 

Be sure to check out our Back2Black Festival Sampler bonus CD in the next issue (#84 June 2012, on sale April 27).

Tags: amadou & mariam, back2black, barbican, fatoumata diawara, festival, gilberto gil, Hugh Masekela, macy gray, marcelo d2, root manuva, toumani diabate.