Angelique Sells Out Carnegie Hall With Her "Mother Nature” Concert
Throughout a multidecade career that lifted her to international acclaim, Angélique Kidjo has kept one foot planted in her native Benin, making border-crossing music rooted in West African sounds and rhythms. Last year, she was set to celebrate her homeland’s 60th birthday (and her own) at Carnegie Hall with a program of African music from the 1960s, a decade in which independence swept the continent.
Those plans were foiled by the pandemic, and the anniversaries have come and gone. In the meantime, Kidjo made a new album that looks to Africa’s future, rather than its past. “Mother Nature,”released in June, showcases a new generation of African talent, with contributions from the Nigerian pop giants Burna Boy and Mr. Eazi, the Zambian rapper Sampa the Great and more.
Photography by Ellen Qbertplaya
“On Friday Nov 5th, Kidjo returns to Carnegie Hall to perform songs from “Mother Nature,” with help from special guests, including Josh Groban, Andra Day, EarthGang, Ibrahim Maalouf, Cyndi Lauper and Philip Glass.”