Kanda Bongo Man is one of the biggest stars in world music and one of the leading exponents of Africa, Kanda revolutionised the Congolese favourite music of soukous after parting with Orchestra Belle Mambo to take up a solo career in Paris in 1979.
He is most famous for his structural changes he implemented to soukous music with mesmerizing guitar solos that gave birth to the famous” KWASA KWASA” DANCE.
Championed by John Peel and Andy Kershaw in the late 80s, Kanda played a key role in introducing African and world music to the mainstream. Now with a huge and loyal fan base, his music still receives regular airplay on stations including BBC Radio 3 and Radio 6 Music.
Festive Party Night with Kanda Bongo Man
Friday 20th December 2024
The Horton Epsom
Starts 8:00PM
Live music from
Saidi Kanda & Mvulamandondo (Traditional East-African Music Meets New Africa)
Son Guarachando ( Cuban, Latin, Salsa Band )
"LOVE is in the air!
There is more to love than romance. The Sussex Refugee Migrant Self Support Group know this first hand. We had to leave all that we loved to rebuild our lives in a new country. We set up Refugee Valentine to celebrate diversity and the complete spectrum of our love. Don't have another dull date with your partner. Come party with your newest neighbours and celebrate a love that crosses borders
Sussex Refugees and Migrants Self Support Group (SRMSSG) set up Refugee Valentine because forced migrants are very socially isolated and very disempowered in general. Winter is always harder, and Valentine’s Day can be especially lonely if you have no money to access traditional activities. The celebration of monogamous pair bonding can be traumatising for people who have had to leave partners, wives, husbands and family behind. It can be triggering for people whose precarity more or less precludes them from such relationships. We know from our own lived experience. We set up Refugee Valentine as an antidote to these problems. It provides an opportunity to be with others and celebrate who we are and what we have to offer. Asylum seekers, refugees and precarious migrants are people who have already crossed borders to find love in new communities. They can show us the way to transcend differences. It’s differences that bring us together, and Refugee Valentine takes love beyond monogamous pair bonding, to begin with rebuilding a community that celebrates difference. Brighton & Hove is a welcoming City of Sanctuary that celebrates its diversity. Refugee Valentine is also about experiencing some joy in the face of the hostile environment and government policy for those caught on the wrong side of the border. By supporting this event, you are not only providing a moment of joy for the asylum seekers, refugees and precarious migrants but also contributing to the creation of a more inclusive and understanding community.
Refugee Valentine 2025
Saturday 8th Feb 2025
The Old Market
Starts 11:00PM
African Night Fever, Ropetackle and Easy Skankin present: Don Letts with Rhoda Dakar
Don Letts’ reputation has been firmly established in both the film and music world by a substantial body of work from the late 70s through the 80s, 90s and well into the millennium. His work has been exhibited in The Kitchen N.Y.C, The Institute of Contemporary Art, The N.F.T in London and was honored at Brooklyn’s BAM festival and The Milan Film festival. In March 2003, he won a Grammy for his documentary ‘Westway To The World’.
He came to notoriety in the late 70s as the DJ that single-handedly turned a whole generation of punks onto reggae. It was whilst as a DJ at the first punk club 'The Roxy' in 1977, that Don adopted the punk D.I.Y ethic and begun to make his first film 'The Punk Rock Movie'.
Don Letts feat. Rhoda Dakar
Saturday 12th April 2025
Ropetackle Arts Centre
Starts 8:00PM
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