The African Music Festival

History

The African Music Festival was created and founded by the Gambian music producer Oko Drammeh in 1983 and has featured all the best and most famous African musicians rising to fame. Best known as Africa day, the faithful and the fans come to Delft and spend glorious days in the beautiful coffee shops of Holland and the teahouses, and magnificent nights of music, food and drinks. During its sixteen years, the festival has been very successful and has become one of the main tourist attractions to the tourists of Delft, and a valuable cultural manifestation for the Dutch government.

The African Music Festival is the worlds largest annual, international African music event. The festival originated in Delft, Holland, in 1983 and was created by founder Oko Drammeh, a citizen of the West African nation of the Gambia, currently residing in Holland. As chairman of the African Arts Foundation, he has dedicated his life to the presentation, documentation and preservation of the African music and culture.

The Festival is a concert and cultural fair, featuring the finest African artists from around the world. The festival has been expanded to Los Angeles, America in 1997, bringing the great legacies of roots music to American audiences. Currently being hosted in the Paradiso in Amsterdam, The netherlands, having become bigger and better, it's now a three day event of african music, dance and culture.

The purpose of the festival is to provide a glimpse of the rich diversity of African music and culture by presenting the great variety of African rhythms, melodies, instruments and sounds. The accompanying fair features African food, art, artifacts, fashion, books, crafts, jewelry and a host of other items representative of African heritage and culture.

Some of the artists who have appeared at the Festival in the past include:

Each year's lineup features artists from various parts of the African continent, highlighting musical forms characteristic of their regions. The program includes traditional as well as contemporary music, acoustic as well as electrical instrumentation, drumming demonstrations and a wide array of African fashion and dance.

For more information contact us at info@africanmusicfestival.com