Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
Fairfield, CT – Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars started playing music together in West African refugee camps while their homeland was racked by years of bloody warfare. Since then, in electrifying live performances and recording experience with the likes of Aerosmith and Mavis Staples, the All Stars have been “establishing an identity based as much on skill, imagination and charisma as on their undeniably touching story” (The Los Angeles Times). This spring, on the heels of their highly anticipated album, Rise & Shine (Released in March on Cumbancha), the group will perform in Fairfield, CT at The Fairfield Theatre Company on StageOne on Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 7:30PM.
Rise & Shine is the follow up to the band’s acclaimed debut, Living Like a Refugee. For the new album, the All Stars began recording in their hometown of Freetown, Sierra Leone then traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to work with the highly accomplished producer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Angelique Kidjo, Rickie Lee Jones, Michelle Shocked, Alec Ounsworth, Jackie Greene) at Piety Street Recording. Some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians contributed to the record-including favorites Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Bonerama and Washboard Chaz-lend it an infectious spirit of celebration and optimism in the face of struggle.
Rise & Shine reflects how far the band has come in the past few years, With an expert producer at the helm, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have realized a unique and seamlessly coherent sound: a fusion of traditional West African music and roots reggae, inflected with New Orleans styles. The album’s 13 tracks embrace the wide array of musical influences the All Stars have encountered on their rise to international fame. Among performances around the world, the All Stars have appeared at some of the most prestigious music festivals worldwide including Bonnaroo, Montreal Jazz, Fuji Rock in Japan, Central Park SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn.
