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

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.

Articles

Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer

In a riveting PuSh Festival and New Works copresentation, Belgium’s Cherish Menzo plays with repetition, chopped-and-screwed music, and flashing dental grillz

Cellist Henry Shapard plays Prokofiev with the VSO at Beethoven’s Eroica, February 20 to 22

Han-Na Chang conducts Beethoven’s revolutionary Third Symphony

Corey Payette spotlights songs from his acclaimed musicals at Closest Thing to Home, January 28

The renowned theatre artist and composer offers a stirring collection of tunes from acclaimed shows such as Children of God and Starwalker

Ghanaian music scholar Kofi Gbolonyo leads upbeat Celebrate Africa! event at BlueShore at CapU, January 30

Long-time UBC and CapU faculty member puts on a show featuring dozens of local musicians, plus vocalists Dawn Pemberton and Khari McClelland

Collaboration opens new sonic horizons for jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould

The Winnipeg-based artist looks forward to onstage exchanges with diverse musical peers on International Guitar Night

You're the Top! brings the songs of Cole Porter to the Anvil Theatre, February 14

Event hosted by Michael van den Bos features Hollywood film projections and live music by the Laura Crema Sextet

At PuSh, Alan Lake Factori(e)’s mythologically driven Orpheus paints a visceral picture of loss

In the deeply moving production, dancers embody the ancient tale of death and longing by tapping into their own experiences of tragedy

Vancouver New Music hosts Artifacts I: Zero Input Enclosure Movement, February 14

Sonic architecture of Winnipeg’s AO Roberts explores the interplay of performance, installation, and layered auditory experiences

Eastside Arts Society secures funding to purchase its headquarters at 716 East Hastings

Vancouver City Council greenlights $2,665,000 for acquiring the property, with funds from the False Creek Flats Amenity Share Reserve

Folk-rooted string quartet the Fretless finds a voice in singer-songwriter Madeleine Roger

Collaborating with vocalists taught the acclaimed, formerly all-instrumental group new ways of listening and working

UBC Opera performs Leonard Bernstein’s satirical operetta Candide, February 5 to 8

Rarely presented in Vancouver, the production blends musical theatre and opera with a philosophically rooted storyline

Ariel Barnes brings nomadic spirit and intense curiosity to classic and contemporary cello works

The adventurous artist sees his upcoming program with Vetta Chamber Music as a way of expressing music’s power to console and cheer, even in dark times

Ralph Moore Quartet headlines sixth edition of Jazz at the Bolt, February 13 to 15

Hosted by the Cellar Music Group at the Shadbolt Centre, festival opens with a special concert by the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra with Champian Fulton and Klas Lindquist

Vancouver Chamber Choir concludes 46th annual Conductors' Symposium with Neighbo(u)rs, February 13

Five emerging conductors lead a program of pieces by both Canadian and American composers, from Amy Beach to Stuart Beatch

You’re Just a Place That I Know retraces a refugee story through song, at the BMO Theatre Centre from January 21 to February 1

Adrian Glynn McMorran’s moving theatre-concert pays tribute to his Ukraine-born grandparents, complete with a choir and traditional instruments

John Irving, Claire Sicherman, and more celebrated authors set to join 41st annual JCC Jewish Book Festival, February 21 to 26

Programming spans the festival’s beloved annual Book Clubs epilogue event and pre-festival events with photographer Dina Goldstein and cookbook author Rachel Simons