PRESS RELEASE:
The 2015 SABOLAI RADIO Music Festival kicks at the end of the year with flavor. We put the best and brightest artists on blast. Those change makers crafting their own moves and contributing to the vitality of Ghana’s – and a global – independent music movement.
Between December 18 – 20th, we’re having a big party. We’re launching more than 30 live performances @ SABOLAI, in Accra’s newest creative hub, James Town. This year’s lineup features a mix of Accra-based and international music artists, spanning hip hop, electronic, R&B, Afrobeat, house, alternative soul, blues, and Highlife. SABOLAI RADIO helps shape different kinds of African communities by bringing together genre-breaking musicians to jam from Ghana, West Africa and this year, the UK.
We’re happy to announce that the 6th annual SABOLAI RADIO Music Festival features artists Kyekyeku, M.anifest, Wanlov the Kubolor, Nana Yaa, Sister Deborah, Tarbiyat [Niger], RICH BLK [UK], Dark Suburb, Kwame Write, Lyric L [UK], Lady Jay, Edem, Mr. Eazi, Worlasi and more. SABOLAI RADIO is definitely music heavy but it’s also the gathering place for people to connect. The Cookout @ SABOLAI will feature a delicious market of food and drink options for all music fans.
The festival opens with THE LABS, a blend of screenings, discussions and creative project development sessions from 2 – 9pm on 18thDecember at Brazil House in James Town. THE 2015 LABS includes a conversation with writer and activist, Jessica Horn, that looks at “the role art and artists play as provocateurs, community-makers and inspirers in challenging injustice and helping make more beautiful futures?” The conversation will focus on crafting strategies that build active communities of artists who are “future-focused.”
There are also 3 creative labs led by practitioners to look at how Ghanaian artists can work together to access copyright protection and royalties (Kobby Graham, writer, lecturer and DJ); to design a new project to amplify pan-African creative collaboration and solidarity (Akosua Koranteng, researcher and writer); and to share strategies on how artists can mobilize resources for their work (Sionne Neely, co-director of ACCRA [dot] ALT). This year’s LABS will screen films by independent African filmmakers including Kae Sun’s Oceans Apart (Ghana/Canada) and Black President by Mpumelelo Mcata (South Africa).