AHFOMAD festival brings the best of African-diaspora music and dance to Massey Theatre and Eighth & Eight, September 1 to 3

Dremo, Selmor Mtukuzi, Ndidi O, Mimi O’Bonsawin, Liya, and Kays, plus Vancouver’s own Alpha Yaya Diallo

Alpha Yaya Diallo

 
 

Massey Theatre and Eighth & Eight Creative Spaces present AHFOMAD 2023 from September 1 to 3

 

FOLLOW THE RHYTHMS to the Massey Theatre and Eighth & Eight Creative Spaces this weekend, as the 8th annual AHFOMAD festival brings concerts, dance, workshops, vendors, and more to the New West arts hub.

African Heritage Music and Dance Society celebrates Black Africa Caribbean and Black Peoples’ music and cultures, bringing a world of diasporic performance to audiences.

Among the artists at this year’s event are Nigerian rapper Dremo, Selmor Mtukuzi, Ndidi O, Mimi O’Bonsawin, Liya, and Kays, plus Vancouver’s own Alpha Yaya Diallo. DJs spin tunes throughout the fest. Discover dozens of emerging acts, like RevBoy born Kalule Isaac, Ugandan recording artist, songwriter, producer based in Toronto (appearing on Massey stage September 3, see video below) or Jeyyyh, an artist from Congo and now based in Vancouver (at the Massey September 2).

The festivities wrap the night of September 3 at the Commodore Ballroom, with a concert by Sauti Sol, the Kenyan Afropop band; listen to its track "Lil Mama" below. More details are at www.festivalafrica.org.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Related Articles

Articles
Vancouver New Music celebrates 50th anniversary at All Yesterday's Parties, November 23
Vancouver New Music celebrates 50th anniversary at All Yesterday's Parties, November 23

Free open house at VIVO Media Arts Centre features live performances by Matthew Ariaratnam, Andromeda Monk, Sapphire Haze, and Anju Singh

Stir Q&A: At fifth annual TRANSFORM Festival, Corey Payette honours Indigenous artistry
Stir Q&A: At fifth annual TRANSFORM Festival, Corey Payette honours Indigenous artistry

Festival co-curated with The Cultch’s Heather Redfern features the workshop premiere of Payette’s musical On Native Land, plus a new choral composition

Bahauddin Dagar plays rudra veena at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, November 23
Bahauddin Dagar plays rudra veena at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, November 23

Performing alongside pakhavaj artist Tejas Tope, Dagar explores the virtuosity of dhrupad, India’s oldest-surviving classical style

In Kin, AJ Simmons and Kelty McKerracher navigate queering the art of flamenco
In Kin, AJ Simmons and Kelty McKerracher navigate queering the art of flamenco

World premiere at Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival sees artists break away from traditional gendered movements and costumes

Film review: Harmonium Symphonique–Histoires sans paroles blends the orchestral and surreal into sheer uplift
Film review: Harmonium Symphonique–Histoires sans paroles blends the orchestral and surreal into sheer uplift

White rabbits and Magritte clouds, as Visions Ouest presents film of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s epic and affecting multimedia performance

Vancouver Recital Society’s Brahms Fest offers double serving of rich music on November 3
Vancouver Recital Society’s Brahms Fest offers double serving of rich music on November 3

Castalian String Quartet, violist Timothy Ridout, cellist Zlatomir Fung, and pianists Angela Cheng and Benjamin Hochman will perform two concerts in one day at the Vancouver Playhouse

Shadbolt Centre for the Arts presents In the Belly of the Carp, November 28 to 30
Shadbolt Centre for the Arts presents In the Belly of the Carp, November 28 to 30

Innovative show created by Rodney DeCroo, Samantha Pawliuk, and David Bloom melds music, theatre, and poetry inside a giant fish

Path of Miracles unites Vancouver Chamber Choir with dancers from Belle Spirale Dance Projects
Path of Miracles unites Vancouver Chamber Choir with dancers from Belle Spirale Dance Projects

The a cappella work by Joby Talbot is meant to be seen and heard

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 things to know about Tan Dun’s epic Buddha Passion
Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 things to know about Tan Dun’s epic Buddha Passion

Conductor-composer to lead Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Canadian premiere of his sweeping mix of Western and Asian traditions, November 8 and 9

Early Music Vancouver hosts U.K. artists Iestyn Davies and Fretwork in Lamento, November 26
Early Music Vancouver hosts U.K. artists Iestyn Davies and Fretwork in Lamento, November 26

Renowned countertenor and Renaissance viol consort play a German Baroque programme based on the latter group’s Signum Classics album

Eastside Culture Crawl launches preview exhibition, October 29 to November 29
Eastside Culture Crawl launches preview exhibition, October 29 to November 29

This year’s multi-venue show is based on the theme of “green”

Elektra fetes the holidays with The Light of Hope Returning, November 30 and December 1
Elektra fetes the holidays with The Light of Hope Returning, November 30 and December 1

Shawn Kirchner’s exhilarating folk oratorio blends familiar and new carols in an immersive multidisciplinary exploration of winter mysteries

Flat Earth Society Orchestra creates rich counterpoint of high art and low comedy
Flat Earth Society Orchestra creates rich counterpoint of high art and low comedy

Surrealism is a major influence on the Belgian big band coming to Vancouver courtesy Music on Main

Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival lets area residents tell their own stories
Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival lets area residents tell their own stories

Savannah Walling and Terry Hunter, who founded the fest 21 years ago, are handing over the reins after this year

Music review: With a talented cast of singers and actors, Die Fledermaus offers evening of unserious fun
Music review: With a talented cast of singers and actors, Die Fledermaus offers evening of unserious fun

Adaptation of Strauss’s beloved operetta opens Vancouver Opera’s 65th season with cheeky adapted dialogue and musical delights

Urban Ink's fifth-annual TRANSFORM Festival spotlights Indigenous artists, November 6 to 9
Urban Ink's fifth-annual TRANSFORM Festival spotlights Indigenous artists, November 6 to 9

Cabaret-style festival co-curated by Corey Payette and Heather Redfern features an electrifying fusion of theatre, music, drag, circus, and more

Vicky Chow plays Philip Glass’s Piano Études at the Anvil Theatre, November 23
Vicky Chow plays Philip Glass’s Piano Études at the Anvil Theatre, November 23

Vancouver-raised, New York-based artist’s 2022 recording of the works was praised by Glass himself as “a highly dynamic and expressive performance”

Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates Day of the Dead, November 1
Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates Day of the Dead, November 1

La Llorona is an evening of puppetry, music, dance, and a Mexican folk tale

CULTURE, FESTS, MUSIC, WHAT'S STIRRINGJanet SmithAHFOMAD, Massey Theatre, Eighth & Eight