King Sunny Adé at North Carolina Museum of Art

As you know, Artsplosure is always excited to bring talent to the Triangle that is fresh, interesting and of course, entertaining. We are thrilled that our friends at the North Carolina Museum of Art are presenting the incredible King Sunny Adé and His African Beats on Thursday, June 25.

King Sunny Adé was born into the royal family of Ondo, in Nigeria, and shocked his parents by embarking on a career in music. But it was a decision that made him a superstar in his homeland and took a style of Nigerian social music known as juju to worldwide acclaim.

The legendary band leader, composer, and guitarist helped pave the way for many of the great Afro-pop bands of our times, including past NCMA standouts Youssou N’Dour, Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, and the Mahotella Queens. Adé has been a bold innovator, adding guitars, percussion, keyboards, synthesizer, and even Hawaiian-style pedal steel to create a “gently hypnotic, polyrhythmic mesh of burbling guitars, sweet harmony vocals, swooping Hawaiian guitar, and throbbing talking drums” (Rolling Stone).

Don’t miss a rare opportunity to dance the night away with one of Africa’s all-time musical greats along with 20 master musicians and percussionists.

Tickets are available on the Museum’s website or by calling the Museum’s Box Office at 919-715-5923.