Highlife veteran Gyedu-Blay Ambolley will headline the first Ahanta Fest UK, a celebration of the culture of Ghana’s Ahanta people, at Oasis Academy Croydon in London on Saturday, 21 November. The organisers, the Ahanta Development Network, list Ambolley as headliner on the event’s official Eventbrite page, and their flyer bills him as the “main artist”. The event starts at 6pm.
The festival is presented by the Ahanta Development Network Global in partnership with the Ahanta community in the UK and Ireland, under the theme “Ahanta to the World, Festival of Culture, Music and Dance”. According to the listing, the night will showcase the heritage and cultural identity of the Ahanta people of the Western Region, as well as the Kundum festival, with live music and traditional performances. Tickets on Eventbrite start from £27.80, with VIP tickets at £54.88.
Fundraising for education back home
Quoted by Graphic Online, the Atwimanlihene of Ahanta Traditional Area and Diaspora, Nana Kwesi Quayson I, described the festival as a giant step towards preserving and promoting Ahanta culture abroad. “Our children must know our culture and speak our language,” he said. He added that a highlight of the evening would be raising funds to support education in the Ahanta area in Ghana.
Nana Quayson told the paper he expected Ahantas and other Ghanaians from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and France to attend, along with MPs, ministers of state and traditional rulers from Ghana. Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Sabah Zita Benson, is also expected, and Ghanaian cultural troupes based in the UK will perform.
A fitting headliner
Born in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region in 1947, Ambolley is a natural choice for the bill. He is the creator of the Simigwa sound, and his 1973 recording “Simigwa-Do”, which blended highlife with funk, jazz and spoken word, is widely cited as an early forerunner of rap and of hiplife. More than five decades on, the singer and saxophonist remains one of the most recognisable names in highlife.
Will you be in Croydon for Ahanta Fest UK? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
