Quad City Arts Visiting Artists ADAAWE at Augustana College -- October 7
Saturday, October 7, 7 p.m.
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
With their album Passage hailed by SonicAbuse as "deeply evocative and perfectly executed," the women-led world-fusion ensemble ADAAWE opens Quad City Arts' 2023-24 Visiting Artists Series with an October 7 concert event in Augustana College's Centennial Hall, their previous engagements including a performance at the California World Music Festival, a concert is Los Angeles' Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and a booking at the Alex Theater with Emmy nominee Jasmine Guy and Oscar nominee Angela Bassett.
Mixing West African roots, gospel harmonies, and American funk, female talents of ADAAWE brew up a contemporary global fusion. Its dynamic members bring their diverse percussive and harmonic flavors to the stage, with an intoxicating energy that captivates audiences everywhere. Hailing from Kenya, Morocco, Israel, Panama, and across the United States, the gifted ADAAWE performers embody intercultural understanding and a celebration of music from around the globe. Through their music, they also build community, promote women’s rights and social and environmental justice.
ADAAWE has headlined performing arts venues, festivals, colleges and clubs across the United States, and has opened for such artists as Mickey Hart, James Brown, and Michael Franti. ADAAWE has supported benefits such as “Human Rights Watch” with Annette Benning, “Roots & Shoots” with Jane Goodall, and the “Urban Peace Awards” with Harry Belafonte. Recently, they performed at the wedding of Stevie Wonder and were cited as a “Pick of the Fringe” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and with their full nine-piece fusion band, ADAAWE toured the East Coast with the Levitt Pavilion Foundation.
Those who watched the 2022 Rose Parade also saw ADAAWE members featured with LeAnn Rimes in the opening number, and the ensemble's album Passage has been lauded an arresting collection of Afro-fusion, ranging from their trademark vocal percussion and djembe drum rhythms to Afrobeat, reggae, and soul. As feminist icon Gloria Steinem noted of the outfit's talents: "Great music - and for women to drum is radical!"
The Quad City Arts Visiting Artists of ADAAWE perform in Augustana College's Centennial Hall on October 7, admission to the 7 p.m. concert event is $20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)794-7306 and visiting Augustana.edu/tickets. For more on the Visiting Artist Series, call (309)793-1213 and visit QuadCityArts.com.
