Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 perform at Rock the Garden 2015
When Seun Kuti wrapped up their 65-minute set on Sunday night, I got the very strong sense that they could have easily played for another three hours. With songs that often stretched past the 10-minute mark and over a dozen musicians eager to step up and take a solo, the band had no problem keeping the energy hot and the beat pressing forward the entire time they were on stage.
Pausing to pay respect to his father, the late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, before playing his song "Opposite People," and later to profess his love for "Minny" and the fact that we are soon to be legalizing medial marijuana, Kuti was an engaging and commanding bandleader, often dancing with his arms wide open to let the love flow out of him and out onto the crowd.
Perhaps the biggest evidence of Kuti's magnetic talent was the fact that the entire backstage and side stage area was flooded with musicians from the other bands performing at Rock the Garden on Saturday, including Sean Lennon, who knelt down and observed in awe. Watching all of the musicians come together to create such intricate, enticing polyrhythms was simply mesmerizing.
Written by Andrea Swensson
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Mike DeMark
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