Adaawe will perform on Friday, September 29, at 5:30 p.m. on Bowling Green Lawn at Scripps College. Bring a picnic or purchase a dinner from the Malott Commons Dining Hall for this outdoor concert. The event is free and open to the public. This event is part of the Levitt on the Lawn at Scripps College Concert Series, presented by the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Pasadena and sponsored by Scripps alumna Elizabeth Levitt Hirsch ’74. For more information, please contact the Scripps College Malott Commons Office at (909) 607-9372.
Celebrate the beginning of fall with a performance by Adaawe, an international women’s percussion ensemble performing traditional West African and original music. The band’s name and inspiration derives from the music of the Ga people of Ghana, West Africa.
Incorporating the rhythm and vocal traditions of Africa with American soul and gospel, Adaawe’s music stylings are a celebration of diversity. LA Weekly says, “Adaawe, an international six-member group of women singers and percussionists, could be described as L.A.’s answer to Zap Mama.” And Alan Sheckter of the Sixth Annual California Worldfest raves, “the top music story at this year’s festival was undoubtedly Adaawe…[who] blew away its audiences with its mix of high-octane percussion funk, Gospel-infused lyrics, and pure joy. The women, a melting pot of talent from Kenya, Morocco ,and Brazil as well as the United States, performed three times and became the talk of the festival.”
Adaawe features Joselyn Wildinson, vocals and percussion; Bridget Graham, vocals; Monique Afenjar, vocals and percussion; Phylliss Bailey Brooks, vocals; Dayna Franklin, percussion; Nakeiltha Campbell, percussion; and Anindo vocals.
Adaawe have opened for James Brown, Mickey Hart, Los Lobos, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sugar Hill Gang, Yolanda Adams, Harry Belafonte and many others. The ensemble was featured in a documentary entitled The World Festival of Sacred Music: The Americas (Catchlight Films, 2000) and the accompanying soundtrack release (Bindu Records). Their independently released debut CD, Six Women Strong, was released in 2006.