Sirius Stage at Harbourfront Center, Queen’s Quay at the Toronto Harbourfront.Here’s our “not strictly Cuban” pick for the month:

King Sunny Adé and his band, His African Beats, continue to weave an infectious blend of electric guitars, synthesizers and multi-layered percussion. Born to a family of Nigerian royalty, Adé left school to pursue a career in music. Adé formed his own band, The Green Spots, in 1967. Frustrated by the exploitation of the record industry, Adé launched his own record label in 1974. In the two and a half decades since, the label has released more than one hundred of Adé’s recordings in Nigeria.

Adé and His African Beats made their debut American performances to enthusiastic crowds in 1983, and has still remained a powerful force in Nigeria. Money received from his early albums has been used to launch an oil firm, a mining company, nightclub, film and video production company, a PR firm and a record label specializing in recordings by African artists. In the mid-1990s, Adé founded the King Sunny Adé Foundation, an organization that includes a performing arts centre, state of the art recording studio and housing for young musicians and performers on a five-acre tract donated by the Lagos State government. Adé currently serves as chairperson of the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria.

.. and stick around for Femi Kuti, same venue at 9 PM !

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