Concert to feature African Diaspora music

The Okaidja and the Shokoto Music and Dance Project will appear March 14 at the junior high school.

The Mountain Home Arts Council will present the Okaidja and the Shokoto Music and Dance Project on Friday, March 14, at 7 p.m. at Mountain Home Junior High School.

Tickets, available at Lucky Perk and at the door, are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students.

Okaidja shows the connection between West Africa and the rest of the world by exploring the roots of African Diaspora music and dance. Tracing the origins illustrates how music and dance survived the Middle Passage and eventually thrived in the lands where the slave ships landed.

Shokoto creates innovative music, drawing upon their West African roots and the diverse music of the African Diaspora. Their music is an energetic, family-friendly mixture of traditional and contemporary African and world music. Shokoto music is a "dynamic fusion of rhythms" from Ghana, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, and the Deep South, "taking you on a musical journey from Africa through the Americas," organizers said.

The instruments they use, from the Afro-Peruvian cajon to the Ghanaian gil, tie together diverse cultures and create a fusion of traditional African music and music inspired by the diaspora. "The exultant compositions, soulful vocals, and energetic dancing combine to create an unforgettable and unique experience like no other," organizers said.

Okaidja is sponsored by the Mountain Home Arts Council and supported through funding by WESTAF, the Idaho Commission of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, select Mountain Home businesses and contributions from local citizens.

For more information about the Mountain Home Arts Council or the March 14 event, go to the council's Facebook page, visit its website at www.mharts.org, or call the Arts Council office at 587-3706.