Reminder: Dobet Gnahoré à BVI, Jamaïque et DA, October 21, 23, 29 (update 3)

First published, October 14, 2011

The Ivorian performer, Dobet Gnahoré, opened the music season of the Scène nationale de Basse-Terre, Saturday, October 15, at l’Artchipel, boulevard Félix-Eboué, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe.

But  the previous night, Friday, October 14, Gnahoré was at CMAC in Martinique under the marquee, Dobet Gnahoré – The Tree of life – L’Iceberg.

DOBET GNAHORE, Haiti

Gnahoré’s Caribbean tour has since taken her to Haiti where, on October 19, she performed her new album ‘Djekpa la you’ courtesy of the Institut Français d’Haïti. 

This weekend, Gnahoré makes too stops, one on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, the second in Jamaica.  Then, she turns right back around and points her finger on the map of the Caribbean.  Her finger tips will land on the Nature Isle, the Commonwealth of Dominica. There, she takes part in the 13th World Creole Music Festival 2011, performing on Night two.

Back to the BVI, Gnahoré has the distinction of opening the 17th edition of the Performing Arts Series of the H.L. Stoutt Community College on Friday, October 21 at the newly renamed Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium, formerly the HLSCC Auditorium.

Jamaica will be introduced to the music of Dobet Gnahoré at the Philip Sherlock Centre, University of the West Indies, Mona, on Sunday, October 23. This as the Alliance Française de la Jamaïque promotes intercultural ties between Jamaica and France.  Gnahoré’s appearance is their contribution to JA’s Heritage Week celebration, the theme of which is ‘International Year for People of African Descent‘.

Alliance Française’s Amandine Poret captured the reasoning behind the choice of artist for Heritage Week in Jamaica in a conversation with the Jamaica Gleaner.  She told the Gleaner that her “…expectation is for the Jamaican public to discover a great, young…and brilliant artiste for the closure of Heritage Week, and share with the intercultural dialogue between France, Jamaica and Ivory Coast. It’s really a discovery for Jamaica because they don’t really know the artiste yet...”

Dobet Gnahoré’s talent was rewarded with a Grammy in February 2010 in the Urban/Alternative category for Pearls, a duet with India.Arie.

She sings in a range of African languages, including Bété, Fon, Baoule, Lingala, Malinke, Mina or Bambara, just a few of the twenty or so African dialects she has mastered.  Gnahoré inherited the bété style from her father, Boni Gnahoré, a master percussionist of Côte d’Ivoire.

Educated very early at the Pan-African Centre for training in the arts and entertainment, the Ivorian artist is a true live performer who sings, dances and plays percussion. Her voice, lyrics and musical sensibilities are equally original attributes. Gnahoré explores her continent with unique vocals, informed by its diversity; and surrounded by her musicians, captivates audiences from east to west and from north to south.

Dobet Gnahoré continues to promote her blend of music, which is now recognized and highly rated in show biz today.

– Dobet Gnahoré, H. Lavity Stoutt Community College’s Performing Arts Series at the Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium, Tortola, British Virgin Islands on Friday, October 21 at 8:00 p.m.

– Dobet Gnahoré, Philip Sherlock Centre, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica on Sunday, October 23 at 06:00 p.m.

– Dobet Gnahoré, Windsor Park Stadium, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica on Saturday, October 29.

Dobet Gnahoré has now left the Caribbean for the United States.  First off, she takes her “multi-faceted approach to music and performance,” as legionarts.org puts it, to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, November 09, 2011.

Adapted from these sources: guadeloupe.franceantilles.fr ¹, ²