The 24th Annual Santa Monica Pier Twilight Dance Series Presented by Amoeba Music presents artists from Zimbabwe's Oliver Mtukudzi and Ghananian Rocky Dawuni.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, CA
Do you love: great reggae – Toots and the Maytals? Music of Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi? 60s British invasion music of Peter and Gordon, Gerry and the Pacemakers? Italian songstress Carmen Consoli and American Indian singer/songwriter Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers?
Join in the summer fun on Thursdays at the Santa Monica Pier!
August 7 Oliver Mtukudzi and Rocky Dawuni
AfroPop from Zimbabwe and Ghana
August 14 Carmen Consoli, Juana Molina and Samantha Crain
Indie-Pop Singers / Global Songstresses
August 21 Peter & Gordon with Gerry & the Pacemakers
The British Invasion once again...on the Pier!
August 28 Toots & the Maytals
Jamaican Reggae Legend!
More info about Afropop from Zimbabwe and Ghana:
Oliver Mtukudzi - Zimbabwean Icon
Oliver Mtukudzi is the best-selling artist in his home country of Zimbabwe, Africa. Lovingly called "Tuku" for short, Oliver began recording in the mid-1970s as a member of Wagon Wheels, a band that also featured Thomas Mapfumo. After Wagon Wheels rolled to fame in Southern Africa, Tuku formed Black Spirits, the band that has backed him throughout his career.
While Tuku's music is undeniably contagious, inspired by the hypnotic rhythms of the mbira (thumb piano), it is his lyrics that have captured the hearts of his people and fans worldwide. The words to his songs, performed in the Shona language of Zimbabwe as well as English, invariably deal with social and economic issues. In the face of political turmoil and a horrific AIDS epidemic that has swept the African continent, Oliver's humor and optimism creates an appeal that crosses generations and borders.
Rocky Dawuni - Reggae and Afropop from Ghana
Rocky Dawuni burst on to the African reggae scene in 1996 with his debut recording
"The Movement." His music explores social issues and spiritual consciousness and
seeks to promote love, justice and righteousness; "It's about hope in the human spirit
and allowing God to empower us to attain the unattainable."
Rocky Dawuni produces the annual Independence Splash in his homeland Ghana. This
highly anticipated event is held on March 6 every year in Ghana's capitol Accra. Rocky
also hosts a weekly soirÈe Afro FunkÈ at Zanzibar, right here in Santa Monica. Rocky's
latest album "Book of Changes" showcases his Afro Roots sound, blending elements of
Afrobeat, Dub, Reggae, Hip-Hop turntablism and traditional African rhythms.
The Santa Monica Pier Twilight Series will be presented on Thursday evenings in July and August from 7 – 10 PM.
Parking: Parking near the pier is limited - walk, bike or take the Big Blue Bus this summer! The bike valet will start up at 6:30 p.m. on concert nights, ready to provide safe, secure and convenient parking for thousands of bikes. The Santa Monica Pier is wheelchair accessible. For bus information, please visit www.bigbluebus.com and www.mta.net or call 310-451-5444. There are also a number of pay lots around the 3rd Street Promenade that are pretty reasonable and some not so reasonable.
About the Twilight Dance Series:
The Santa Monica Pier Twilight Dance Series presented by Amoeba Music will feature three premieres, a 30-year reunion and ten weeks of summer fun in its 24th season! The concerts kicked off June 26 with an opening night dance party featuring L.A.’s favorite Worldbeatniks The Bonedaddys and Oakland-based soullective Crown City Rockers. The best in eclectic and worldly rock, pop, jazz and blues will carry through to August 28th’s closing concert, a full evening with Reggae pioneer Toots & the Maytals.
Now too much fun for just two hours, the new concert time is 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The season is marked by the West Coast debuts of the hugely popular Italian songstress Carmen Consoli in August; Dominican group Bachata Roja Legends featuring Puerto Plata; and Mike Farris from Nashville, Tennessee, with his tent-revival "Salvation in Lights" band.
Performing together in Southern California for the first time since the 1960s will be Peter & Gordon, sharing August 21 with their fellow British Invasion hit-makers Gerry & the Pacemakers. Also appearing this summer are Michelle Shocked, one of the true originators of what is now commonly referred to as "Americana" and possessed of an iconoclastic, restless and always independent artistic spirit. We’ll present the greatest Salsa band in North America, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Zimbabwean cultural icon Oliver Mtukudzi, multi-hyphenate, New World Folkie Juana Molina from Argentina, Ghanaian Reggae/Afropop star Rocky Dawuni and emerging Native American singer/composer Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers.
Cost : Free and open to the public; parking is limited - see above note.
Santa Monica Pier310-458-8901
www.twilightdance.org/
Sponsor(s): Santa Monica Pier Twilight Series and Amoeba Music. Information about non-ASC events is posted for informational purposes and does not necessarily reflect opinions of or endorsements by African Studies personnel.