The Africa Oyé festival is the biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture in the UK, taking place every June in the picturesque surroundings of Sefton Park in Liverpool. Having grown from humble beginnings in 1992 as a series of gigs in the city centre, Oyé now attracts crowds of over 50,000 people from all over the world each year.
Africa Oyé is a registered charity and partially funded by Arts Council England and Liverpool City Council. 2017 was Africa Oyé’s 25th Anniversary Year and saw a whole host of events programmed around the annual festival, under the ‘Oyé 25’ banner. Oyé was also shortlisted for Promoter of the Year at the 2017 UK Festival Awards.
This year, GRAMMY nominated Ghanaian music star and activist, Rocky Dawuni, headlines Africa Oye’ Festival on Saturday, June 16, 2018. Rocky is currently putting the finishing touches on his much anticipated 7th album entitled “Beats of Zion” which is set to be released in late 2018. His new song “Burn One” was recently featured on tastemaker radio station KCRW as their “Top Tune of the Day” for the 4.20 celebrations and will be featured on the TNT hit TV series “Animal Kingdom” on June 26. Another track from the album, “Let’s Go” is the theme song for Cadbury Canada’s Bicycle Factory campaign 2018 for which a beautiful 360 video was shot in Ghana and has since garnered over 1.3 million views on YouTube!
Rocky Dawuni’s unique “Afro Roots” sound as featured on Branches of the Same Tree, (Cumbancha) was nominated for a GRAMMY for “Best Reggae Album” (2015) which included the ground breaking Afro Dancehall mashup “African Thriller”and its striking accompanying video. The galvanizing performer continues to bring his music to an ever wider international audience through his dedicated work on humanitarian, environmental, peace building and social issues mixing music with creative activism. “Shine A Light“, which is a welcome bit of joy in these troubled times, highlights Rocky’s ability to communicate a universal, uplifting message that crosses borders and reaches out to the hearts of millions.
“Africa wake up and seize your moment to unite all your nations and all of your children. You are the promise of this generation.” – Rocky Dawuni