June 1/2/3 2023
Join us for a weekend of sublime music from all over Africa with dance, Afro-Welsh performances, workshops, film, an art/photography exhibition and much more! A true celebration of Africa in Wales!
Celebrating Africa in Wales
Dathliad Cymru Affrica Festival (meaning ‘Celebration of Wales-Africa’ in Welsh) brings you a pan-African arts celebration. The weekend will be a celebration of the richness of diversity in Wales, specifically African diaspora culture and arts. We have guest bands from Africa (Mali, South Africa, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo), plus African artists based in Wales and from across the UK.
Brought to you by The Successors of the Mandingue, Neuadd Ogwen, Butetown Arts & Culture Association (BACA) and Rahim El Habachi.
WEEKEND & Day TICKETS
-June 1/2/3-
FFORDD BANGOR, BETHESDA GWYNEDD, LL57 3AN
Thursday
7:30pm – THE SUCCESSORS OF THE MANDINGUE ALL STARS & EVE GOODMAN
8:15pm – AFRO CLUSTER
9:30pm – BCUC
7:00pm – Door
Friday
7:30pm – DAFYDD IWAN & ALI GOOLYAD
8:15pm – HANISHA SOLOMON
9:30pm – BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA
7:00pm – Door
Saturday
5:00pm – AGMAR BAND
7:00pm – RASHA
8:15pm – SUNTOU SUSSO & BINTA SUSSO
9:30pm – KANDA BONGO MAN
4:30pm – Door
THURSDAY
1St June
EVENING SHOW - NEUADD OGWEN
THE SUCCESSORS OF THE MANDINGUE ALL STARS
feat. Eve Goodman
The Successors of the Mandingue will be presenting an impressive seven-piece band: standard bearers of authentic Mandinka culture, each artist is a star in their own right, steeped in the West African griot (or djeli) bardic tradition of preserving the stories and histories of its people through music, dance, and song. Hailing from Guinea, Senegal, The Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso; their musical vocabularies are rooted in the same shared ancient traditions that spanned the ancient Mandingue Empire.
For Dathliad Cymru-Affrica, a special collaboration has been commissioned between N’famady Kouyaté (Artistic Director of The Successors of the Mandingue) and Eve Goodman to bring the folk traditions of West Africa and Wales together in a single piece, celebrating the ancient cultural traditions and languages of their countries of origin. N’famady and Eve first met when they both represented Wales at Celtic Connections in 2022 and we are excited to hear the work they have been creating.
7:30 – 8:00 01/06/23
Afro Cluster
Afro Cluster is a Cardiff-born collective inspired by the legacy of West-African funk/Afrobeat and golden age Hip-Hop.
Across their catalogue you will hear strong rhythms and jazzy refrains emboldened by motivational lyrics penned and delivered by emcee Skunkadelic.
8:15 – 9:15 01/06/23
Bcuc
BCUC: Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness. Indigenous funk, hiphop consciousness and punk rock energy from Soweto, South Africa.
The seven-piece band has been mesmerising audiences both locally and globally with its indigenous funk and high-energy performances that have fast made it one of South Africa’s most successful musical exports.
9:30 – 10:45 01/06/23
FRIDAY
2nd June
EVENING SHOW - NEUADD OGWEN
Festival Commission
Dafydd Iwan & Ali Goolyad
Dafydd Iwan is a renowned folk singer and politician originally from Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, now living near Caernarfon. Awarded an honorary LL.D. by the University of Wales for his contribution to Wales and the Welsh language, the singer-songwriter has released many albums, and is an author of several books. His song “Yma o Hyd” was the Welsh football team’s official song in the World Cup in Qatar.
Ali Goolyad is a poet, actor and a community activist. Born in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Ali migrated to Wales aged 1. His previous work includes writing and performing in De Gabay, (National Theatre Wales), Border Game, Storm 2, Big Democracy Project (National Theatre Wales), Borderland (Radio 4), Talking Doorsteps (Roundhouse), Mattan Injustice of a Hanged Man (BBC), and Black and Welsh (BBC Wales). Ali is a collaborator at heart and loves the version of Welsh culture he creates.
7:30 – 8:00 02/06/23
Hanisha Solomon
Hanisha Solomon is an Ethiopian singer, based in London.
She is an extraordinary talent, singing in Amharic, Oromiffa & Arabic. Her music represents the beautiful and powerful sounds of Ethiopia and beyond. Her repertoire includes songs about injustice, humanity and the need for unity.
8:15 – 9:15 02/06/23
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Hailing from Mali, Bassekou Kouyate is one of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa, and is respected as one of Africa’s premier global artists.
His band, Ngoni Ba, includes ngoni players, percussionists and the fantastic singer Amy Sacko. Together they have revolutionised the sound of the ngoni, and radically fired centuries of griot tradition into the future.
9:30 – 11:00 02/06/23
SATURDAY
3rd June
Evening show - Neuadd Ogwen
Agmar band
Agmar Band is the brainchild of musician Hassan Nainia who hails from the Sous region of southern Morocco. They play a fusion of North African traditional music, mostly Amazigh (Berber), using the traditional Amazigh instrument the Loutar and banjo.
After a career spanning decades in Morocco, Hassan is now also noted in the UK for collaborating on the 2018 album Jah Wobble & MoMo Project-Maghrebi Jazz and performing with Senegalese kora player Diabel Cissokho.
5:00 – 6:00 03/06/23
Rasha
Rasha is a uniquely gifted Sudanese singer, musician and song writer who has had a global presence in the international music scene for over 30 years.
Rasha’s musical style is a fascinating amalgamation of styles including the centuries old musical traditions of the Nubian culture, rhythms of central Sudan, the tom-tom beats of the African Sahel, echoes and influences of North African, Arabic and Andalusian (flamenco) sounds, modern blues, jazz and reggae.
Through her career Rasha has collaborated with Youssou N’Dour, K’naan, Geoffrey Oryema amongst many others.
7:00 – 8:00 03/06/23
Suntou Susso
feat. Binta Susso
Susso is a multi-instrumentalist: Kora player, percussionist, singer and composer from The Gambia.
Born into the 700-year-old Griot tradition, Suntou performs his role as a historian, storyteller, and unifier of people through song. The kora is a 22 string harp-lute, a rare and enchanting instrument. Suntou Susso’s music brings nothing but good vibes as it combines the rich, traditional sound of his West-African Mandinka culture with Afro funk and soul.
Plus Cardiff-based special guest singer Binta Susso.
8:15 – 9:15 03/06/23
Kanda Bongo Man
Known as The King of Soukous, Congolese star Kanda Bongo Man was one of the earliest artists to introduce this music to the international mainstream. He is most famous for his mesmerizing guitar solos that gave birth to the famous Kwasa Kwasa dance, championed by John Peel and Andy Kershaw in the late 80s!
Kanda’s music has always been driven by optimism and happiness. His exhilarating performances are exciting and energetic yet deeply rooted in the Congolese tradition. With his incredible seven-piece band behind him, don’t miss Kanda Bongo Man bringing you the joyous music and dance of central Africa.
9:30 – 11:00 03/06/23
Other Events
1,2,3 June
Friday workshops
Djembe, Djembe, Djembe!
West African master drummers from The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars, each masters of their craft, will lead these four 30 minute sessions. These standard bearers of authentic Mandinka culture will share their heritage through a joyful session that will get everyone moving.
Get caught up in a voyage to West Africa and back – we promise you will leave smiling!
Separate tickets from Eventbrite are required for these workshops, with a discount if you have a festival ticket or if you bring your own djembe. Walk-ins welcome!
02/06/23
Four 30-minute sessions
10:00 – 10:30
10:30 – 11:00
11:00 – 11:30
11:30 – 12:00
Friday workshop
West African Dance
with Live Drumming
West African master dancers from The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars will facilitate this session accompanied by live rhythms led by Oumar Almamy Camara.
Camara is a master dancer from Guinea, West Africa. Now resident in Bristol, Almamy has an impressive CV as a choreographer and percussionist, with previous roles as Artistic Director of Ballet Bougarabou in Senegal, and Dance Director for Circus Boabab in Guinea. In the UK Almamy established the music and dance festival Mandenkan Bora in Bournemouth.
A separate ticket from Eventbrite is required for this workshop, with a discount if you have a festival ticket. Walk-ins welcome!
02/06/23
12:15 – 13:30
Saturday workshop
Ethiopian Dance
with Adi Detemo
Join Adi Detemo for an energetic Ethiopian dance workshop!
Ethiopian dance is characterized by its energetic and upbeat style, incorporating intricate hand, shoulder and foot movements, fluid and expressive body movements, and rhythmic beats. The dances often tell stories, celebrate cultural traditions, or express emotions.
Traditional Ethiopian dances include the Eskesta, a fast-paced dance that involves lively hand and shoulder movements and strong beats and the Gurage dance, a group dance that features synchronized movements and intricate footwork.
A separate ticket from Eventbrite is required for this workshop, with a discount if you have a festival ticket. Walk-ins welcome!
03/06/23
10:00 – 11:00
Live gigs
At the Fic
Free evening performances at the pub next door
Blank Face
6:00 Friday
Joshua Whyte is a musical canvas who fuses different sounds as his paint and brush to create a beautiful picture.
Adjua
6:00 Saturday
Born in Splott to Ghanaian and Welsh parents, Adjua brings alt-RnB music with an acoustic touch!
Between the Soundchecks
Live interview sessions with many of the festival artists hosted by actor, playwright and belly dancer Rahim El Habachi at the Fic pub
Thursday
4:30 BCUC
Saturday
2:00 North Wales African Society dancers
4:20 Suntou Susso
Film Screenings
At the Fic
Thursday
6:30 Krystal Lowe and Aida Diop dance
Friday
5:00 Krystal Lowe and Aida Diop dance
Saturday
1:30 Balafon Origins
2:30 Dò Farala A Kan
(With video intro by director Lucy Duran)
Dathliad Cymru Affrica 2023
Artists
The Successors of the Mandingue
Eve Goodman
Afro Cluster
BCUC
Dafydd Iwan
Ali Goolyad
Hanisha Solomon
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Agmar Band
Rasha
Suntou Susso
Binta Susso
Kanda Bongo Man
+ MORE
Concept
Brought to you by The Successors of the Mandingue, Neuadd Ogwen, Butetown Arts & Culture Association (BACA) and Rahim El Habachi.
