Ruhrtriennale presents Angélique Kidjo
26.6.2024The Beninese-French singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo will be a guest at the Ruhrtriennale on 4 Sept. Her performance in the Gießhalle completes this year's concert series in the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord. The five-time Grammy winner has worked with Bono, Tony Allen and the Talking Heads, among others, and will present her concert programme Celebrating 40 years in Duisburg.
Kidjo fuses Cuban salsa, Congolese rumba, soul, jazz and West African musical traditions with modern African pop. Irresistible beats and lively melodies convey important messages about the climate crisis and the fight for freedom. "Music is like a language to me," says Kidjo, "it's so powerful and transformative and we share it and add to it. I've never let boundaries stop me from being creative and developing music."
Even in her youth, Kidjo actively campaigned against the dictatorship that ruled her home country. As the first African woman to be appointed a UNICEF ambassador, she campaigns for girls' education, against genital mutilation and early marriage. Amnesty International has honoured Kidjo with its highest human rights award for her work against injustice. In 2019, she was honoured with the German Sustainability Award.
Plenty of reasons to celebrate Kidjo's musical legacy and her social influence with an energetic concert at the Ruhrtriennale.