Wednesday, August 4, 2010
music August 6: Kenge Kenge at the Sebastopol Community Center
Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Having already traveled to Sri Lanka, Norway and Thailand, the nine-piece Kenyan group Kenge Kenge finally comes to America this weekend. Specializing in a native style called benga, Kenge Kenge play self-made instruments with names like the nyatiti lyre, the bul drums, and the oporo horn. But the foundations of benga music are the vocal arrangements, which Kenge Kenge delivers with contagious jubilance, especially in their YouTube hit of 2008, “Obama for Change,” which advocated for the then-senator’s election from the other side of the world. Kenge Kenge (meaning “fusion of small, exhilarating instruments”) play Friday, Aug. 6, at the Sebastopol Community Center. 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $20–$25. Traditional African dinner (separate from door admission) at 7pm; show 9pm. 707.823.1511.
