Kotoko Brass returns to The Dance Hall with their unique, joyful, and improvisational style of West African dance music along with singer and percussionist Mohammed Alidu:

Mohammed Alidu is a celebrated singer and percussionist from Tamale, Ghana, born into the Bizung lineage of talking drum chiefs. Kotoko Brass is a high-energy global music band based in Boston, featuring musicians from Ghana, Antigua, Japan, and the US. The two have joined forces to write and record a new album entitled Kalan Pini,a groundbreaking presentation of Dagomba music and culture for new audiences. Join us on Saturday 4/4 for the premiere performance of their new music in Kittery, Maine.

Mohammed Alidu was born and raised in Tamale, into the Bizung lineage of talking drum chiefs of Northern Ghana – a lineage that dates back over 1000 years. He learned to play talking drum from his father who was a renowned drum chief in Tamale and started to perform with him at a very young age. Since 2005, Alidu has resided in the U.S. where he formed his own band, The Bizung Family Band, and has been a sought after collaborator on diverse music projects with artists such as Playing For Change Band, Peter Gabriel and Baaba Maal.

Inspired by the traditional drum rhythms of Ghana, Kotoko Brass has created a unique, joyful, and improvisational style of West African dance music described by the Boston Globe as “propulsive, infectious party music”. The drums provide the heart and soul of Kotoko Brass — merging syncopated African percussion polyrhythms with hard-hitting dance grooves on the drumset. The horns blend traditional sounds of New Orleans with the famous West African brass band sound heard from Ghana to Nigeria, and the guitar, keys, and bass evoke classic African and Caribbean styles of highlife, afrobeat, and reggae. A celebratory and energetic synthesis of music, people, and cultures from around the world, Kotoko Brass features musicians from Ghana, Antigua, Japan, and the United States playing together in unity. In the US, Kotoko Brass has shared the stage with Angelique Kidjo, Femi Kuti, and Vieux Farka Toure, and on their debut tour of Ghana in 2023, they had the honor of performing for Ashanti King Nana Osei Tutu II.

$20 advance | $25 day-of | $15 Student

*fees not included ($3 facility fee per ticket + cc processing fees)