International Music Star Angélique Kidjo to Host Showstopping MIAC Live Concert

Contributed

Five-time Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo is coming to the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center at Mercyhurst University. Her full range of vocal talents and energetic dancing set to world music will be featured for one evening only.

Thursday, Apr. 13

Angélique Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music today — a creative force, with 16 albums to her name. Most recently, Kidjo was the recipient of 2023 Polar Music Prize, becoming the third African to be awarded this prestigious music award. Time has called her "Africa's premier diva" and named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. The BBC has included her on their list of the 50 most iconic figures and, in 2011, The Guardian listed her as one of their "Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World." Forbes has ranked Kidjo as the first woman in their list of the "Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa." She was the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the 2016 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, the 2018 German Sustainability Award, and the 2023 Vilcek Prize in Music.

Kidjo travels the world advocating on behalf of children as a UNICEF and Oxfam goodwill ambassador. At the G7 Summit in 2019, President Macron of France named Kidjo as the spokesperson for the AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) initiative to help close the financial gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa. She has also created her own charitable foundation, Batonga, dedicated to supporting the education of young girls in Africa.

Her striking voice, stage presence, and fluency in multiple languages has won respect from her peers and expanded her following internationally. Kidjo has cross-pollinated the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk, and jazz, as well as influences from European and Latin American music.

Kidjo's recent albums include Celia (2019), a tribute to Cuban singer Celia Cruz which won the 2020 Grammy for Best World Music Album, and Mother Nature (2021) which features collaborations with many young African producers and singers.

Brett Johnson, Ph.D. Director of Mercyhurst Theatre Program said, "We're thrilled that five-time Grammy Award-winning artist and activist Angélique Kidjo is coming to Mercyhurst University. Her powerful voice, boisterous dancing, and radiant energy are certain to have patrons on their feet, moving to the groove of her genre-defying music." 

7:30 p.m. // Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center, 501 E. 38th St. // $20-$45 // Tickets and information: mercyhurst.edu/events