African Music Concerts Week of Aug 10 - Aug 16

The Ford Amphitheater hosts the annual African Music Festival with this year's headliner the Soukous Stars featuring Lokassa Ya Mbongo, Chico Muwatu, Nguma Lokito, and newcomer Jirbo Ntunta from General De Fao's Big Stars Orchestra. Get ready to blister your feet to the smoking sound of Congolese music. Come up on the back stage to dance behind the band and in front of all your friends!

When Fela was getting started and AfroBeat was still stewing in the pot, a young Najite became one of his students. He learned the phrasing, vocals, consciousness and messages of the new sound. He has blended the spices in his own way, but in the manner of Fela's cooking and concocted a soup of his own that is every bit as nourishing and hearty. Get on down and hear the beat.

Mama Juana is the new salsero hangout in Studio City and who better to kick off the live music than Ricardo! "African salsa" is how I would term it, since he mixes the Congolese with the Cuban to get a danceable mix.