Saturday, March 17   8:00 p.m.
Flamingo Cantina   (515 E 6th St)

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  Rocky Dawuni - Wake The Town
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ROCKY DAWUNI
www.rockydawuni.com
"A rising young star…primed to conquer America,” LA Weekly


Hailed as “Ghana’s Bob Marley” by England’s leading influential newspaper New Nation, Rocky Dawuni burst on to the African reggae scene in 1996 with his debut recording, The Movement. An introspective journey into social and spiritual consciousness, the album garnered immediate rave reviews, as well as two hit singles, "Sugar" and "What Goes Around.” The CD was also released in the U.S. to critical acclaim and glowing praise. The Beat described this freshman effort as a "thoughtful, spiritual and involved debut recording." Urb Magazine named Rocky one of the "Next 100 People to Watch in the Entertainment Industry.” Atlantic Records subsidiary Mesa/Bluemoon Records licensed "What Goes Around" and its video, climbed to #3 on the Reggae Video Charts, for domestic release on Strictly Underground: Reggae's Next Generation. The album’s intense media exposure transcended boundaries setting the stage for the continent’s next international music star.

Rocky's sophomore effort, Crusade (1998), which he wrote, arranged and produced, was his quest to promote love, justice and righteousness. "It's about hope in the human spirit and allowing God to empower us to attain the unattainable," he says. Crusade’s first single and its arresting video, “In Ghana,” a celebration of 40 years of Ghanaian independence, achieved international hit status on both radio and TV. Putumayo World Music licensed the song for Reggae Around the World, which also included tracks by Lucky Dube and Burning Spear. Crusade received rave U.S. reviews as well, including a four-and-a-half-star review from Reggae Report and high praise from influential Dub Missive, which touted, “from beginning to end, it scores a direct hit.”

Rocky was recently featured on the new Showtime smash hit series WEEDS starring Mary-Louise Parker, performing “Jammin’ Nation” on the already classic “Cooking With Jesus” episode. “Jah Be For Us,” also from Crusade was featured in the same episode. He also was the chosen performer at the star-studded series season 2 premiere party.

In mid-1999, Rocky began his first U.S. summer festival tour with a knockout performance at the Vermont Reggae Festival to a capacity crowd of 35,000. He also made critically hailed appearances at the UCLA Jazz/Reggae Festival and Sierra Nevada World Music Festivals and the following year embarked on the Africa Roots 2000 Tour alongside the Ivory Coast’s Ishmael Isaac and Senegal’s Positive Black Soul. With stops at NYC’s SOB’s, the House of Blues in Boston, WOMAD USA in Seattle and the prestigious Reggae on the River in Northern California the outing established the artist as one of the premier live reggae artists. Summer/Fall 2001 and 2002 saw him continue to trek through the U. S., including performances at the prominent Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, WA, Reggae in the Park in San Francisco, the one million fan strong Detroit World Music Festival and the first annual Fairfax World Music Festival in Northern California.

Rocky released his third album Awakening in Ghana in 2001, which continues the committed artist’s quest for political and spiritual enlightenment. Rocky sees it as an urgent catalyst for African unity and the disc received acclaim from West Africa Magazine, Billboard, Voice of America and the BBC. "I'll Try," the first single from the album won Rocky his second Ghana Music Award’s Best Reggae Song of The Year in 2002, the first having been bestowed to “In Ghana” in 2000. And, continuing to break new ground on all artistic fronts, "I'll Try’s" stunning music video was the first ever shown in 35 mm format in Ghana.

The same year, the first Rocky Dawuni Independence Splash was created in honor of Ghana's Independence Day. This highly anticipated event was held at Accra’s (Ghana’s capitol) Labadi Beach on March 6th attracting over 30,000 fans. An overwhelming success, the event has become Dawuni’s annual homeland concert. Splash 2002’s live Ghana TV broadcast reached an estimated 10 million viewers and Independence Splash 2004 was produced in conjunction with Alliance Francaise, the cultural arm of the French government, at their beautiful outdoor amphitheatre in Accra.

Immediately after Splash 2004, Rocky opened for Stevie Wonder at the International Conference Center in Accra. Mr. Wonder in turn joined his new friend, jamming with him into the wee hours to a sold out crowd at Afro Funké, Rocky’s weekly soirée at L.A.’s hot spot Zanzibar, completely stunning the packed audience.

In 2005, Dawuni was given “Ghana’s Cultural Ambassador” award by the US Embassy and the Bokoor Popular African Music Foundation in a colorful ceremony held at the W.E. Du Bois Center in Accra alongside legends of Ghanaian music.
Devoted as he is to his West African roots, Rocky continues to establish his U.S. presence and was nominated for "Best World Music Artist 2005" by the influential LA Weekly. The publication lauds Dawuni as a "rising young star" with "engaging stage presence" and notes Dawuni is "primed to conquer America.” Rocky was just chosen to perform at a fund-raising event for Jeffrey Sachs and his Millennium Promise Foundation’s mission to end Malaria in Africa. The event was co-hosted by Qunicy Jones and Roger Waters.

Rocky’s latest studio album Book of Changes, an inspired showcase for his Afro Roots sound, artfully blends elements of Afro Beat, Dub, Reggae, Hip Hop turntablism and traditional African rhythms. After honing his unique stylings in powerful live performances around the world, Rocky’s songwriting and passionate vocals are well displayed in the disc’s break-out tunes "Wake the Town" and "Shashamane." In fact, “Wake the Town” is currently receiving tremendous support on National Public Radio's flagship station - KCRW 89.9 FM in Southern California, the UK’s BBC World Service and France's Radio Nova. This attention also resulted in Warner Bros. Television licensing both tracks for NBC-TV's top rated show "ER" which aired to an international audience of millions. His as-of-yet unreleased cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” was also recently featured in ER’s “Darfur” episode. The launch of Book of Changes was celebrated with a legendary performance at the last “Independence Splash” which was filmed and rebroadcast to a captive audience of approximately 15 million viewers on the Ghanaian Broadcasting Corporation (GTV).

Next up, Rocky will be recording a new album at Bob Marley’s legendary Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica.

Stay tuned…