The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome Okaidja Afroso back to the Weis Center on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center. He will present a new project called “Jaku Mumor” that combines African oral tradition, percussion, guitar, dance and native language vocals.
The performance is sponsored, in part, by Evangelical Community Hospital and the Class of 1953 Fund.
Born into a family of musicians and storytellers in Kokrobite on the west coast of Ghana, Okaidja Afroso is a singer, guitarist, percussionist and dancer deeply connected to the musical traditions of the African Diaspora and devoted to bringing together diverse modes of expression in pursuit of global harmony.
His five albums, most recently Jaku Mumor, chart a journey from his past as a vocalist, percussionist and dancer with the Ghana Dance Ensemble and Obo Addy through to the present, as a confident and mature songwriter and collaborator.
Afroso ushers in a fresh breeze of musical flavors from the shores of Ghana’s Atlantic Gulf of Guinea, drawing from the ecological knowledge of the indigenous Ga-Dangme fishermen — the power of the nature-based rituals and the connections that his ancestors had to the elements, particularly the ocean.
With his new project “Jaku Mumor” his distinctive musical style extends ancestral traditions and creates a contemporary African oral tradition, combining percussion, guitar, dance and native language vocals. His artistry is grounded in traditional dance and rhythms with modern harmonies and updated lyrics. “Jaku Mumor” dives deeper into Afroso’s cultural roots by collaborating directly with the fishermen to share the full artistry of their cappella singing and chants that awaken the spirit of the human soul.
TICKETS
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $15 for youth 18 and under, $15 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $15 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).
Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at lisa.leighton@bucknell.edu.
For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.