Africa Express live at The Ritz, Manchester September 5, 2012

LINEUP:
Amadou & Mariam
Damon Albarn
Rokia Traoré
Kano
Baloji
Charli XCX
Jupiter Bokonji and Okwess International
Jack Steadman
Baaba Maal

Africa Express, the collective of African and Western musicians, is filling a train with dozens of very special guest artists and taking it on a musical adventure across mainland Britain this September, produced in association with the Barbican as part of London 2012 Festival and presented in Manchester by Band on the Wall as part of the We Face Forward season of West African art and music.

Participating artists for the tour include musical legends, emerging new artists, vocalists, DJs and producers from Africa and the West including Amadou & Mariam, Damon Albarn, Baaba Maal, Rokia Traoré, Kano, Baloji, Charli XCX, Jupiter & Okwess International and Jack Steadman (Bombay Bicycle Club) - with lots more guests to be announced closer to the time.

Africa Express began in 2006 with a trip to Mali, when co-founder Damon Albarn took the likes of Fatboy Slim, Martha Wainwright and Jamie T to work with African legends such as Toumani Diabate, Salif Keita, Amadou & Mariam and Bassekou Kouyate. This was followed by a live concert in London, then the now-legendary Glastonbury 2007 show, trips to Nigeria, the Congo, Ethiopia, Paris, and a Spanish beach show for 50,000 people.

As well as scheduled concerts in Manchester, Middlesbrough, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol and London, there will be pop-up performances at railway stations, schools, factories, offices, shopping centres and homes. The train itself will include a customized music carriage, with artists creating new material along the route.

"A fantastically varied cast of stars… a joyfully unpredictable compelling journey." NME

A Band on the Wall Fundraiser Event

Official Website: http://crd.fm/1NU