The Africa Oyé festival, the biggest free celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture in the UK, has recently announced its first wave of international artists in their 2018 line-up.
Sefton Park in Liverpool, will once again be home to the music and culture of Africa and the diaspora for two fantastic free days of live music and celebration on 16 – 17 June.
Visitors will get to enjoy the music of singer-songwriter Binha, whose songs of love and hope broke through in Guinea Bissau back in 2008. On the background of political crises in his home country, his committed and realistic lyrics reached out far and wide to resonate with a diverse audience.
Pioneering kora player Sona Jobarteh will be coming back to Liverpool, and those who attended the festival I 2016 will remember her from her rainy Sunday performance. The Gambian artist has modernised the presentation of Kora music and brings a rhythmic edge to her compositions that fits with her remarkable voice.
Oyé’s Artistic Director, Paul Duhaney said: “The huge number of applicants to play this year’s festival has been overwhelming, yet a real testament to how revered the event has become around the world.”
Africa Oyé is a registered charity and partially funded by Arts Council England and Liverpool City Council. Last year it was the festival’s 25th Anniversary year, after it’s humble beginnings as a series of gigs in the city centre in 1992. Each year Oyé now attracts crowds of over 50,000 people from all over the world.
The festival will take place from 12.30pm til 9.30pm on the weekend of 16th-17th June, in Sefton Park in Liverpool. For more information, visit africaoye.com.
> Borislava Todorova
The Africa Oyé Festival
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