Baaba Maal to deliver keynote address at ACCES 2017

ACCES, which stands for Music In Africa Conference For Collaborations, Exchange And Showcases, will be held for this time in Dakar, Senegal, on November 17 and 18. The conference will see industry players from across the African continent converge on the Senegalese capital to exchange ideas, discover new talent and accelerate the shaping of the music sector on the continent.

On the ACCES 2017 menu are training workshops, panel discussions, presentations, networking sessions, exhibitions, showcases, concerts and visits to key music industry hubs in Dakar.

“We are honoured to have Baaba Maal as the keynote speaker for ACCES 2017,” MIAF director Eddie Hatitye said.

“He is an iconic African musician whose outstanding body of work has propelled African music immensely on the global map. He has so much to offer to anyone in the industry and it is such a privilege to have him share his vast knowledge and wisdom in what will probably be the most important talk of the event.”

The 63-year-old Baaba Maal is no stranger to fans and the music industry. He has commanded international stages with his original fusion of traditional Senegalese music and modern sounds. The singer and guitarist has released 11 studio albums since the late 1980s, his latest The Traveller, which won praise from publications such as The Guardian, NPR and AllMusic. With a career spanning three decades, the Grammy Award nominee is bound to be a favourite with the ACCES 2017 audience, which will be eager to hear his take on the state and challenges of the African music industry.

About ACCES

The idea to start a pan-African music conference was born in 2016 when the MIAF extended its Annual General Meeting (AGM) programme into a conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event was attended by international delegates from 15 countries and the keynote address was delivered by legendary Ethio-jazz musician Mulatu Astatke.

ACCES 2017 partners will include the Goethe-Institut and the Siemens Foundation as well as local affiliates such as the Association of Musicians of Senegal (AMS) and Grande Ourse Productions.

Since its inception in 2013, the MIAF has endeavoured to support the African music sector through its online information and exchange portal, musicinafrica.net, and by hosting various offline activities such as instrument building and repair workshops as well as concerts in Africa and Europe. This year, the foundation has also begun providing mobility support to musicians from countries affected by conflict via its recently launched Music In Africa Connects (MIAConnects) project.

For more information, or if you would like to attend ACCES 2017, visit the official website.