The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC will host Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Angélique Kidjo on Saturday, October 13 at 8 pm. The internationally-acclaimed artist will present an evening of her unique songs, drawing on diverse and eclectic musical stylings such as Afropop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba, jazz, gospel, and Latin.
“Our vision for the 2012/13 season was to present a diverse range of artists who not only represent the world, but who have created positive change through their work and art,” explains Joyce Hinton, Co-Managing Director of the Chan Centre. “Angélique Kidjo is a brilliant example of such an individual. As a musician, her radiant, ebullient voice uplifts hundreds of thousands of individuals. As an activist, her work brings aid and relief to the world’s most needy, shining a light on humanitarian issues that affect us all as global citizens.”
Born in Benin, Angélique Kidjo is one of Africa’s most internationally celebrated female musicians. Recently listed among the Guardian’s Top ‘100 Most Inspiring Women in the World,’ Kidjo is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a tireless campaigner for women’s health and girls’ education in Africa, and a dynamic environmentalist who brings enormous awareness to global issues of consumption and climate change.
To date, the prolific Kidjo has released 12 acclaimed albums during her celebrated career. Her latest album, Spirit Rising, was released in February 2012. Fluent in numerous languages, Kidjo regularly sings in English and French, as well as in Fon and Yorùbá from her native West Africa.
She has collaborated with many popular recording artists including Carlos Santana, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys, Peter Gabriel, Branford Marsalis, Bono, and Herbie Hancock. Kidjo’s hits include the songs Agolo, We We, Adouma, Wombo Lombo, Afirika, Batonga, and her version of Malaika. Kidjo’s 2007 album Djin Djin earned the songstress a Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music album.
Angélique Kidjo
Date: Saturday, October 13, 8 pm
Venue: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Road, Vancouver
Tickets: Via phoning Ticketmaster at 1.855.985.2787 (ARTS), online, or at the Chan Centre ticket office
*Arrive early for a free pre-show talk for ticket holders at 7:15 pm in the Royal Bank Cinema at the Chan Centre. Veronica Fynn, Adjunct Professor with UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, will share her experiences as a Liberian-born war survivor with particular reference to the strong female influences of Angélique Kidjo and her own mother.
