IT’S always a dancing good time when Afropop queen Angelique Kidjo plays the Savannah Music Festival. Last night’s performance by the legend and her incredible band was no exception.
A large and enthusiastic crowd turned out at the Lucas to enjoy a mix of her signature tunes, a couple of new tracks from her upcoming album, some Spanish-language songs, and of course an homage to the Talking Heads album Remain In Light – her rock-solid covers of which gained Kidjo much crossover stardom in the last decade.
Indeed, more than any other living African performer, Kidjo has crossed over into multiple genres over the decades, garnering new audiences along the way.
At age 64, Kidjo shows zero signs of slowing down. Her voice is as strong as ever, and her dance moves are as spry and entertaining as they’ve ever been.
Marking 40 years as a performer, Kidjo offers a world of wisdom and is eager to share it. A born storyteller, a highlight of her shows always comes when she tells extended, humorous tales of her childhood in Africa, or of experiences in the music business.
In the end, Kidjo’s message as always is that music bonds us together, and our shared humanity is the most important thing we have in this world. She backs up this message not only through her music, but by her constant charity work with human rights organizations all over the globe.
Kidjo has that rare gift of being able to make every person in the audience think she is singing and performing just for them, and talking to them alone.
Hers is an unusually small and tight ensemble for this genre of music – just two percussionists, a bass and keyboards.
There is no electric guitar to play the shimmering and playful lead lines that are so distinctive and delightful about Afropop. So that melodic role was instead filled by keyboardist Etienne Stadwijk, and occasionally by bassist Chelton Grey, playing high on the neck.
The effect, rather than limiting, is actually expansive, and you can tell all the musicians really enjoy the creative leeway they have in interpreting this buoyant and invigoratingly optimistic music.
For me, Kidjo’s percussionists pulled it all together: Marcos Lopez on congas/djembe and Joshua Keitt on the full kit. Both work together seamlessly to interpret the various African-inspired polyrhythms in Kidjo’s music, as well as adding layers of Latin and funk-inspired rhythm.
I particularly can’t say enough good things about Josh Keitt, who I think is now my new favorite drummer. His fluid, endlessly creative drumming style is inspiring to watch and to hear. The New York-based Keitt has a broad background in jazz, gospel, and indie music, and that eclectic approach is perfectly showcased in his role backing Kidjo.
A show like this – which is really composed almost entirely of dance music – often poses a bit of a dilemma for Savannah Music Festival audiences. The music is clearly intended to inspire dancing and movement, but dancing or standing is close to taboo at many ticketed SMF shows.
Luckily, Kidjo is a veteran of these kinds of things. She made everything OK when she said, very specifically, now it’s time to stand up and dance. The crowd responded and had a great time.
That’s usually all it takes, and that's part of why she is such a legend.
