**TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR SUNDAY NIGHT!! DOORS AT 8PM. PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY!! YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE PRODUCTION, BUT YOU CAN'T BE PREPARED FOR THIS!!!**
Top Ten Social and Go Live present: One Night Only : A very special evening with the full band cast of “Fela!” featuring Sahr Ngaujah & members of Antibalas, Jennifer Johns w/ full band, DJ Aebl Dee, DJ Jeremiah, and art by Githinji Wa Mbire and Eesuu Orinde. Hosted by SILA.
This show will sell out. Fast. Buy now.
Sunday, December 4 at the New Parish, 579 18th St., Oakland, 8 p.m.
Oakland continues to make history. Just one month after 100,000 people participated in the first General Strike since 1946, the movement of the people continues with a special performance by the full band cast of the award-winning Broadway musical “Fela!,” performing songs made famous by Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his bands Nigeria 70, Afrka 70, and Egypt 80.
“The message of Fela’s music remains relevant today,” says TTS’ Michael Orange. “His style of Afrobeat, with its emphasis on political themes, such as people’s resistance to corrupt government and greedy corporations, is very much in tune with the message of the Occupy movements happening in Oakland, across the US, and in hundreds of cities around the world. Music is the weapon of the 99% -- along with culture. For that reason, we had to put this show together.”
Response to the San Francisco production of “Fela!” has been overwhelmingly positive. But for Sahr Ngaujah, who plays the lead role, and the rest of the cast-- a 10-pc. outfit which includes members of Afrobeat revivalists Antibalas--it was important to bring the energy and the spirit of Fela! across the bay to Oakland, the home of the Black Panther Party. It was, after all, BPP member Sandra Akanke Isidore (vocalist on “Upside Down”) who reportedly influenced Kuti to move in a more political direction with his music.
Opening up the show will be a performance by Oakland songstress Jennifer Johns. In addition to her two critically-acclaimed solo albums, Johns is a Green For All Fellow and the founder of Go Live, an organization dedicated to bringing sustainability and food justice to historically oppressed urban communities. The night also features DJ sets by Aebl Dee and Jeremiah aka “Mr. Afrobeat,” works by iconic Afrocentric artists Githinji Wa Mbire and Eesuu Orinde, and host/MC SILA.
*Limited presale tickets are available at
http://felaoakland.eventbrite.com/
About TTS: Top Ten Social's organizational goal is to push the cultural, artistic and intellectual envelope of Afro-futurist urban expression and create sustainable models through innovative events.Our mission encompasses informative and educational approaches to cultural entertainment, which recognize ancestry while updating tradition, and build up the spiritual, mental and economic health of urban communities. Originally founded in 1966 in Milwaukee, TTS is currently based in Oakland, California.
About GoLive: Our goal is to produce media, music, performance and events to inform and inspire historically oppressed communities towards a more just food system.
*Peace to the WONDER-FULL SF 8 crew ;)
www.facebook.com/events/303321186346505
www.goliveonline.net
www.toptensocial.com
www.twitter.com/toptensocial
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www.silaband.com
www.maishaproductions.com
www.felaonbroadway.com
