Brymo, Falana, and Adunni Nefretiti in concert at 2016 Ake Festival

Now in it’s fourth year, Ake Festival has become Nigeria’s foremost festival of arts and culture. It is named after the title of Wole Soyinka’s memoirs, Aké, and it holds annually at the Nigerian Nobel Laureate’s hometown, Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, Nigeria. Activities of the 2016 edition of the festival started on 15 November, and on 16 November, around 9 pm, the concert kickstarted the more energetic parts of this festival of book panels, film screenings, and exhibitions.

Falana opened the concert with her usual mix of fresh music, covers of her influences, and songs from her EP. Erykah Badu was the chosen influence of the night, but she also sang Julie Andrew’s Favourite Things, and sang Reinfiltrator, To Bernard, and Start Again from her EP, Things Fall Together. She also played her Cajón and the guitar, and thrilled the audience as is now expected of her performances.

Adunni Nefretiti, a quartet of four women, dressed in white robes adorned with beads and singing to the accompaniment of twin congas, sang Yoruba folk songs. These songs drew from the storied Yoruba tradition of living to the accompaniment of songs. As rallying cries, as tools for household quarrels, as ways of documenting history. At the end of their set, the crowd called for orders for songs from their various locales, and Adunni Nefretiti obliged, singing songs from Ekiti state, Delta state, both in southern Nigerian, and an Hausa song.

Brymo was the final act of the concert, and he opened with In the City, a dedicated soundtrack to a short film titled No Good Turn by Udoka Oyeka, which also screens later at the festival. He sang more crowd favourites, and closed his performance with his hit song, ‘Ara’. The crowd chanted encores, like the did at the end of the other sets, but the three performing groups filed out to the chorus of Brymo’s last act, and bowed out as Lola Shoneyin, the festival director, closed out the concert.

The festival continues until 19 November. Check the festival webisite for more details.