June 4, 2016, 11:00 PM-12:30 AM
FirstWorks Plaza Stage / Kennedy Plaza
In the hands of master drummer Sidy Maiga the djembe does not just beat—it sings, shouts, whispers, laughs, cries, and electrifies.
Originally from Mali, Maiga is based in Rhode Island and has traveled the world drumming and teaching. He combines the best of West African percussion traditions with the modern rhythms of the Caribbean and hip-hop. performance with his full-band, Afrimanding, will have audiences dancing at the FIrstWorks Plaza Stage to his complex, polyrhythmic grooves well into the night. He has also commanded the stage at the 2007 Heritage Day Festival at the State House, which he headlined, as well as the FirstWorks Urban Carnevale in 2014. In 2011 the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts honored him as their Folk Arts Fellowship winner and he was also selected as a MacColl Johnson Fellow for Music Composition. Wear your dancing shoes to witness one of Rhode Island’s musical treasures.
FIRSTWORKS PLAZA STAGE SURPRISE! To cap Saturday evening, Sidy Maiga & AfriManding will be joined by special guest and Grammy-Award winner Oumou Sangaré. Mali’s great diva is renowned for her spellbinding vocals and powerful songs that strike deep in the heart. Known as “Sangaré the Songbird,” she carries on a Malian vocal tradition that, when combined with Maiga’s passionate drumming, will evoke the spirit of Africa and amaze the crowd.
Also find Sidy Maiga accompanying Close-Act Theatre’s White Wings and Saurus creatures at the start of the INFLUX Art Walk, meeting Friday, June 3 at 5:30 PM in Biltmore Park, and join him for a community drum circle on Saturday, June 4, 2-3:00 PM in Burnside Park.
Produced by the City of Providence
Founding Creative Partner: FirstWorks
