Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars

April 13, 2011 - PRLog -- Chandler, AZ (April 12, 2011) On Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 8pm Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars perform at the Center. Tickets are $28, $32 and $36.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars burst onto the world stage in 2006 with the help of a moving documentary film that told the powerful and inspirational story of the group’s formation in a West African refugee camp. From these humble beginnings, the band went on to release one of the most acclaimed world music releases in the past few years, “Living Like A Refugee”. The title track of the album was recorded by the light of an oil lamp in Sembakounya Refugee Camp in Guinea, West Africa. The band sang and laughed into the night, healing and being healed by their music. You will feel inspired and honored to have been part of their journey.

Video Clip:
http://chandlercenter.org/performances/0411.html#sierra

All the members of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars lived in or near Sierra Leone’s capital city before fleeing Freetown during the country’s decade-long civil war.

Among the thousands who fled were Mr. Reuben Koroma and his wife Grace. Walking through the squalid and dangerous Kalia Camp in Guinea, Reuben found Francis “Franco” John Langba, a -musical brother- from the pre-war music scene in Freetown. Franco had been separated from his wife and kids and had still not been able to learn anything of their fate. In camps like Kalia, discovering someone alive feels like a miracle. But the three took the miracle a step further by making music for their fellow refugees. The defenseless refugees were relocated to Sembakounya Refugee Camp in the remote countryside away from the volatile borders. It was there that Reuben, Grace, and Franco met their future band mates; Arahim “Jah Voice,”so called for his perfect high pitch, who was forced to watch rebels kill his father before they cut off his arm at the shoulder and left him for dead. Mohammed Bangura had similarly been forced to watch the murder of his parents, wife, and infant child before having his hand severed. Alhadji Jeffrey Kamara, called “Black Nature,” is the youngest of the group. Orphaned by the war and tortured by police in Guinea where he had fled, Black Nature is considered an “adopted son” by the others. With the help of a Canadian NGO (CECI) the newly dubbed Refugee All Stars acquired beat-up instruments and a rusted-out sound system and began to play for their fellow refugees, bringing sorely needed hope and relief to a traumatized populace.

At Sembakounya Camp, American documentary filmmakers Banker White and Zach Niles along with Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Velan encountered Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. They ended up following the band for three years as they moved from camp to camp and eventually returned home to face their war-torn country and reunite with family, friends and former band mates, many of whom they believed may not have survived the violence.

It was during this trip that the current line-up of the band was cemented and their lifelong dream of recording in a studio was realized. It is in such grace notes -and in the warmth, humor, and searing candor with which the band members bear their personal and collective wounds - as well as in the music they make, that the All Stars express their fierce loyalty to each other and to their people, and indeed to refugees of all the world’s terrible conflicts.

Now Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars tour the world spreading their message of peace and love in a “can’t help but dance” show that fans from all musical backgrounds can enjoy. For a group that started in a remote Guinean refugee camp and only started touring outside of West Africa, they have come a long way.
For more information and to PURCHASE TICKETS ON-LINE visit www.ChandlerCenter.org.
It’s SIMPLE, FAST and NO PER TICKET FEES!

CALENDAR LISTING INFORMATION

Event: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
Date/Time: Saturday, April 30, 2011 @ 8pm
Tickets: Tickets are $28, $32 and $36
Venue: Chandler Center for the Arts
Venue Address: 250 North Arizona Avenue, Chandler, AZ 85225
Venue Website: www.chandlercenter.org
Artist Website: www.refugeeallstars.org
Box Office Phone: 480-782-2680
Interview Request Form: http://chandlercenter.org/press/request.html
Venue Contact: Judi Johnson, Marketing Coordinator
Email: judi.Johnson@chandleraz.gov
Phone: 480-782-2674

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