1980 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection

The 1980 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection consists of manuscript and print materials, audio recordings, graphic materials, and video recordings that document the 1980 concert series sponsored by the American Folklife Center. The annual series, which began in 1977, features the presentation of folk traditions from many cultures. The 1980 series was produced with the assistance of the National Council for the Traditional Arts.
The collection features material from the 14 August 1980 concert of Ghanaian music and dance performed by Yacub Addy and Blema Bii (Children of the Ancient) from Washington, D.C. There are two 10-inch tapes of drum and vocal music representing the Ashanti, Ewe, Fanti, and Ga peoples performed by Yacub Addy and eight drummers and singers from the Blema Bii (Children of the Ancient) Group of Ghana. The music (1 hour and 13 minutes) was recorded 14 August 1980 in concert at the Library of Congress Neptune Plaza by Pete Reininger.

There is one folder of print materials concerning Blema Bii concert of 8-14-80. It contains press releases, correspondence, photocopy of resume of Yacub Tetteh Addy, and identification of people in photos on contact sheet.

The archive also has Afro-Cuban music, and Southeast Asian music featuring Laotian, Vietnamese, and Hmong performers. The recordings were done live outdoors on Neptune Plaza, in front of the Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, at concerts from May through October 1980. It was sponsored by the American Folklife Center and the National Council for the Traditional Arts.

The collection is open for research; access restrictions for some materials may apply. To request materials, please contact the Folklife.