By Osagie Alonge
Nigerian gospel singer Kefee has not only been chosen to perform live on stage at the forthcoming African Festival of the Arts (AFA) but will also open stage for the Grammy Award-winning, US neo-soul, R&B singer India Arie.
Kefee who is currently on a six-month tour in the US will be joining the prestigious list of music greats like Angelique Kidjo and Hugh Masekela, who have represented Africa on the AFA stage. The show which will hold in Chicago on Labour Weekend Monday, September 5, 2011 is expected to attract an estimated crowd of 30,000 people.
‘If I ever liked African music, this experience has made me like it more now than I ever did. I am very proud of what I do. The reception of my kind of music has been overwhelming even though some of my audience don’t understand my language yet they respond enthusiastically’, the Sapele-born singer told a local Chicago publication.
In its 22nd edition, the AFA is regarded as the largest neighbourhood festival of its kind in the United States and has seen artistes such as James Brown, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Bobby Womack, Gil Scott Heron, Nona Hendryx, Dwele, Goapele, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Slave, Les McCann, Rachelle Ferrell, Kool and the Gang, The Brothers Johnson, and Kindred the Family Soul perform live on stage to the Chicago crowd.
