Artistry Transcends Culture… and INSPIRES

Old Town School of Folk Music has consistently brought an impressive array of African artists to Chicago.  In doing so, they have helped to build an ever-growing and diverse fan base for performers from all parts of the continent.

On November 12th, Dobet Gnahore (pronounced DOE-bay NYA-or-ay) returned for her third appearance at Old Town.  This musician/singer/dancer from the Ivory Coast captivated and energized the crowd with her emotive singing and dancing – a sort of hip-hop + modern dance meets traditional African.  Her brief song intros brought to light the often serious subject matter – including poverty, women’s issues and politics – though the emotion they evoked required no translation.  Singing in various languages and dialects, accompanied by a range of Pan-African rhythms, and kept in-time with a rocking drummer…  Dobet has just enough pop-sensibility to provide an inspiring performance to her die-hard fans, while offering those who ‘dabble’ in World Music a perfect taste of the high points and high energy of the music and dance of Africa.  Such an active performance, photos don’t do it justice, but I have included a few below to give you a taste.