‘Still Black Still Proud’-Highlight pictures from the Barbican

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am blessed in doing what I do. I really am. Sure, the freelancing may not give me the financial riches that I’d like to have yet, (“all in due time, Ak!!”) but I’m tanked up on the richness of the diverse musical pedigree that I encounter every time I cover a live music gig. What even makes it a truly enriching experience is when the performers are as humble as pie, and have fun doing at what they do best.

And so I find myself in the presence of outstanding musicians yesterday, performing an African tribute to the funk legend himself, James Brown. With what I heard yesterday, I still maintain that a large percentage of music originated from Africa. Except for Heavy Metal. Something eerily unholy about that category.

The line up of gifted and talented artists included Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Simphiwe Dana and Vieux Farke Toure, just to mention a few. The atmosphere was charged with Funk, Soul and Afro-beat, and if you just sat in your seat and was not tempted for even a second to stand up and dance, then you definitely lacked in appreciation of music. Anyway, here are a selection of images from the gig that was taken during the sound-check and the main show. (**When shooting at the Barbican, it’s difficult to move around, so if some shots seem to be from the same angle, I apologise.. 🙂 ** ):

Pee-Wee Ellis (Sound Check):

Fred Wesley (Sound Check):

Fred Weley, Pee-Wee Ellis & James Morton (Main Performance):

Simphiwe Dana (Sound Check):

Simphiwe Dana (Main gig):

Fred Ross (main gig):

Wunmi (Main gig):

Cheikh Lo (Sound Check):

Vieux Farka Toure (main performance):

Ty (Main performance):