1DANCE AFRICA - PRESS RELEASE

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST AFROBEATS & DANCEHALL CONCERT SERIES IS COMING TO SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE

FEATURING…

WIZKID

YEMI ALADE

HARMONIZE

…AND MORE!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Apples & Pears Entertainment (A.P.E) in association with Taliberry Entertainment, are thrilled to announce the 1Dance Africa concert series, an Afrobeats and African culture event that will undoubtedly shake up the nation as it hits Australian shores for the first time ever. With the biggest names in Afrobeats music in tow, 1Dance Africa will make its unmissable debut on Friday 11th October at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion and Saturday 12th October at Melbourne’s Festival Hall.

Sign up for pre-sale now at http://www.1danceafrica.com/.

Pre-sale codes will be sent out at 9am on Tuesday 6th August.

Pre-sale: 12pm Tuesday 6th August – 12am Thursday 8th August.

My Ticketek and My TicketMaster member pre-sale: 9am Wednesday 7th August – 12am Friday 9th August

General on-sale begins on Friday 9 August @ 9am.

Headlining this cultural and rhythmic African experience are some of the leading artists in the genre, Wizkid, Yemi Alade, and Harmonize, each of whom are coming to Australia for the very first time. The concert series will also be MC’d by the hilarious world-renowned comedian Eddie Kadi, with still more artists to be announced. Afrobeats is one of the fastest growing pop sub-genres in the world, with its influence being heard in the music of such mega-stars as Rihanna, Diplo, Major Lazer, and Drake, as well as throughout the pop charts. The genre was also recently celebrated at Coachella 2019, with artists such as Mr. Eazi and Burna Boy drawing significant crowds at the world-renowned festival.

From the huge success on his first album ‘Superstar’, to collaborating with Drake on his number one hit “One Dance” in 2016 and again in 2017 on his own track “Come Closer”, Wizkid is considered by many to be the world’s biggest name in Afrobeats. Wizkid was the first ever Nigerian artist to top the Billboard 100 chart, and the first-ever Nigerian artist to reach one million followers on Twitter. He has won and been nominated for an extensive array of awards, including two BET awards for Best International Act Africa. Most recently featuring on Beyonce’s latest release ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ on the track “Brown Skin Girl”, Wizkid is an artist in high demand, with a stunning tone and rhythmic capability that allows him to easily flow between the hip hop and African music genres.

Yemi Alade is widely regarded as the leading lady of Afrobeats music, making her mark on an international scale. With record-breaking YouTube videos and recently hitting an impressive 1 million YouTube subscribers, the first African artists channel to do so. Yemi is a powerhouse to be reckoned with as she grows a list of awards and the commercial success for her music. Her latest album ‘Mama Africa’ reached number one on Africa’s iTunes chart. After winning The Peak Talent Show in 2009, her second single “Johnny” became the most watched Nigerian music video on YouTube with a massive 89 million views. This year alone Yemi Alade has dropped a Rick Ross remix of her 2018 hit “Oh My Gosh”, released a new high-energy dancefloor track “Bounce” and featured on the Beyonce produced album ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ on the track “Don’t Jealous Me”.

Tanzanian songwriter and dancer Harmonize is best known for his hit song “Kwanwyaru” featuring Diamond Platnumz, and his feature on Rich Mavoko’s hit “Show Me”. After beginning his career in 2011, his huge commercial success has seen him win awards from WatsUp TV, AFRIMMA and AEA in the US, as well as being named one of MTV Base’s “Ones to Watch for 2017”. He has also amassed a significant online following with over one million subscribers on YouTube.

British-based, African-born comedian Eddie Kadi is internationally regarded for his quick wit, refreshing thought provoking material. A king of comedy on the world stage with huge popular appeal, Eddie Kadi proudly incorporates his African culture and upbringing into his material, having recently hosted a travel show My African Passport for VoxAfrica UK. Early on in his career, he won the BECA award for Best Comedy Newcomer in 2006 and has since sold out an array of solo concerts at venues including indig02 and London’s O2 Arena. As well as being a host and presenter for BBC1 and OHTV in the UK, Eddie Kadi has fronted documentaries for MTV and the BBC respectively.

Taliberry Entertainment was founded in 2016 by a group of young African Australian men with a shared passion for music, their culture and lived experiences. With powerful stories of civil war and famine in their home nation of Sudan and persecution and racism whilst residing in Egypt bonding them together, the young men have found their home and opportunities in Australia.

The group has since found great success in producing and selling out club shows, often attracting up to 2,000 music lovers, who converge from different states to experience their love of African culture and the music stemming from it.

Their next big step is to bring their culture, so richly entwined in music and dance, and share it with the nearly 1 million African Australians in Sydney and Melbourne, all fans of Afrobeats and Afrodance and all music fans in general. The crowds are certain to be blown away by the celebration of African music, dance and culture. This feel-good movement will branch far beyond this single event and extend throughout mixed communities across the nation.

When reputation is paramount in an industry that is ever changing, having a name that is synonymous with excellence is only achieved through years of hard work, that is a testament to what brand owners and concert directors, A.P.E have created for themselves. With over 20 years’ experience in the events and entertainment industries 1Dance Africa could not be in safer hands. Beginning life as advisers, agents and managers of the careers of luminous artists and brands, A.P.E has since grown and diversified into a company which includes departments in technology, agency, event management, design, audio visual and touring. With over 25 professionals across 3 offices A.P.E is a unique one stop destination for events, concerts and promotions.

Taking over Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion and Melbourne’s Festival Hall over two massive nights, the organisers hope it will make a powerful social impact on perceptions of the African community in Australia. This concert series combines afrobeats, dancehall and reggae artists to embody the joy and passion of music, creating an atmosphere to heal and foster a sense of optimism not just for Africans, but for all Australians. The event is also family friendly, with specialised ticket prices available for children, pensioners and students.

Born in the 1960s, the Afrobeat genre is encapsulated by the sounds of brass, percussion, saxophones and the big-band jazz-funk influences, with traditionally Nigerian elements in the music and the musician. Having evolved, changed and shaped as time has progressed, Afrobeats was born of its father movement, whilst simultaneously appearing to be the antithesis of it. Afrobeats utilises the electronic tracks of hip hop and pop; the sound is still rooted in the musical rhythm of the genre it stems from, with the sounds of remixed dance tunes layered upon it.

1DANCE AFRICA FULL DATES

Friday 11th October – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

Saturday 12th October – Festival Hall, Melbourne

TICKET DETAILS

Sign up for pre-sale now at http://www.1danceafrica.com/.

Pre-sale codes will be sent out at 9am on Tuesday 6th August.

Pre-sale: 12pm Tuesday 6th August – 12am Thursday 8th August.

My Ticketek and My TicketMaster member pre-sale: 9am Wednesday 7th August – 12am Friday 9th August

General on-sale begins on Friday 9 August @ 9am.

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