September 13, 2001

AfroPop Dance Party Will Shake Up MASS MoCA on October 13

(North Adams, MA) Dance to the driving AfroPop beat on Saturday, October 13, at 8 P.M. when master drummer Obo Addy and his band Kukrudu take the stage at MASS MoCA. Addy is one of the key originators of the seminal musical movement now known as Worldbeat. According to the Lewiston Morning Tribune, "Their sounds of Africa shoot straight to the heart and through the backbone into the feet," and Variety said of a recent performance "The audience is moved by awe and a desire to dance. The music was electric!" The AfroPop Dance Party is co-presented with the Williams College Dance Department.

As a prominent member of the first generation of African musicians to bring their traditional and pop music to Europe and America, Addy embodies the past, present and future of Ghana's musical culture.

Addy has two colorful performing ensembles: Okropong (meaning eagle in his native Ga language) performs traditional Ghanaian music while Kukrudu (Ga for earthquake) brings jazz to the forefront. Kukrudu, who'll join him at MASS MoCA, is an eight-piece ensemble of African and American musicians who use Ghanain percussion and Western instruments including saxophone, trombone, guitar, electric bass and drums to perform a rich synthesis of musical styles. Described by the Washington Post as an "infectious, immensely danceable hybrid of American jazz-rock riffs with African polyrhythms," Kukrudu makes it impossible to sit still.

Addy learned ritual music from his father as a young child growing up in Ghana. He began his professional career playing international pop music and Western standards on the nightclub circuit in Accra, Ghana. He later joined the National Arts Council of Ghana, becoming a master in the traditional music and dance of Ghana. A 1996 National Heritage winner, Addy has performed internationally including at the 1972 Munich Olympic games. Addy has a twenty-year presence on the international performing arts scene and has become known for his fusion of past traditions with new ideas and foreign influences. According to The Beat magazine, "Running the gamut from samba schools to James Brown, Addy's musical walkabout is nothing less than thrilling."

MASS MoCA's dance party series is co-sponsored by Old Saddleback Brewing Company and Holiday Inn Berkshires. Partial sponsorship is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets to the AfroPop Dance Party are $12 for adults and $6 for kids. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 10 am until 6 pm daily. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org. African dinner and special drinks will be available before the party starting at 7:00 and throughout the evening.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org