Africa Oyé unveils headliners for 2019 festival

The Garifuna Collective from Belize and legendary reggae artist Horace Andy will headline the 27th annual Africa Oyé festival this summer.

Taking place in Liverpool’s Sefton Park on the 22nd and 23rd of June, the music and culture of Africa and the Diaspora will once again take centre stage for two free days of fantastic live performances, DJ sets and multi-arts workshops.

Leading the way for this latest announcement, and performing as part of Oyé’s contribution to Windrush Day, is Jamaica’s Horace Andy, a renowned singer-songwriter known as the sweetest voice in reggae and for his long association with British trip-hop pioneers, Massive Attack.

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Horace Andy

Andy has become an enduring voice on the Jamaican music scene. His signature early 1970s hit, ‘Skylarking’ defined his ability to deliver songs of Black determination and social commentary that topped the Jamaican charts.

He has consistently recorded and performed around the world in his own right with his band Dub Asante, and has remained prominent in roots reggae, rocksteady, lovers rock and dancehall.

Also announced for the 2019 festival is The Garifuna Collective. The group has pushed the boundaries of their dynamic, centuries-old musical traditions, breaking new ground with performances that show why UNESCO has proclaimed the language, dance and music of the Garifuna people of Central America as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

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The group have been back in the studio over the past year, recording their brand new album HAMALA (Let Them Fly). It will be their first record since their highly-praised tribute album to fallen bandleader and cultural icon Andy Palacio, who they previously performed at the festival with back in 2007. The new album experiments with new Garifuna rhythms, recording concepts and even some “organic electronic” music and dub techniques.

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The two festival headliners join a line-up that already includes the likes of BCUC,Moonlight Benjamin, Sofiane Saidi & Mazalda, Carlou D and OSHUN, as well as Liverpool emerging stars Tabitha Jade and Satin Beige who make up the ‘Oyé Introduces’ programme.

Africa Oyé’s Artistic Director said of the reveal “It’ll be a real honour to welcome back The Garifuna Collective to headline Oyé in their own right after their amazing performance with the late, great Andy Palacio twelve years ago; their sound and energy is incredible. And Horace Andy is a reggae headliner we’ve always wanted to see on our stage and I just know he’ll close out the Saturday in perfect style.”

As well as the international offering of live music on the main stage, festival-goers will also be able to eat and drink their way around the world with a range of food stalls and traders’ wares on offer in the Oyé Village.

The final wave of main stage artists are set to be revealed soon.

The 2019 Africa Oyé festival will take place on 22nd and 23rd June, 2019 in Liverpool’s Sefton Park from 12:30pm til 9:30pm both days and entrance is FREE.