As a pharmacist, Iyeoka sold medicine for physical ailments in her hometown of Boston and spent her free time singing poetry. As the front woman of the collective Iyeoka & The Rock by Funk Tribe, she was greatly admired by fans of the music of Gil Scott Heron and the Last Poets, and both of her albums were highly praised. Big city anger was evident in her songs, her intellectually demanding choice of words, and her sharp gift of observation, but also goodness, devotion and beauty. Three years ago, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants decided to start prescribing only medicine for the spirit and soul. She quit her job and in 2010, she released the album with the pragmatic title «Say Yes»: meaning say yes to life, to love. Since then Iyeoka is like Tracy Chapman, Lauryn Hill, Shirley Bassey and Sade – you could say she is the essence of all four with her sense of justice, rhythm, vocal power and gentle grace.

Since 1986, Madredeus have spearheaded the long tradition of fado and a woman’s voice was always at the centre, now it is the voice of Beatrix Nunes. The mastermind of the band, guitarist Pedro Ayres Magalhães, helps to ensure the future of fado with his compositions, which are not museum pieces, but rather a reflection of the realities of Lisbon in 2012. They perform some classic works as well as new songs at AVO SESSION.

«Raï» is a folk music form in Algeria. The word means opinion or view, a pointed message to the world. Khaled experienced the danger of spreading that message when the Islamists took over the country in 1986. He was forced to flee at the age of just 26. Khaled continued to develop his music in France. He became a superstar and an important symbol in his homeland, although he was forbidden to perform there. Khaled wants to entertain and to be popular. He says what he thinks and he plays raï the way he wants to, electronically, but also with traditional instruments, western and yet still Maghrebian, in different languages, but most of all with a message that is loud and clear.

One particular scene in concerts with Brazilian singers never ceases to surprise European audiences: Someone starts the first verse of a song on stage, then holds out the microphone to the audience and ten thousand people finish the verse without a single mistake in the lyrics as they dance in perfect rhythm to the song. That is MPB: Música Popular Brasileira is pop music in the literal sense of the word, it’s the music of the people. MPB is part of the Brazilian national identity, just like football. Carlinhos Brown’s African roots are obvious and on the stage he likes to emphasize the fact by wearing tribal headdress. He uses the name Brown in honour of his brother in the US, civil rights leader H. Rap Brown and singer James Brown. It’s going to be a hot night at AVO SESSION. Whoever wants to have a true MPB concert experience, should start learning Carlinhos’ songs by heart … .

Many Brazilian musicians are from Salvador de Bahia in the Northeast, Brazil’s most African city, where slaves from West Africa still landed in the 19th century. Daniela Mercury was born there in 1965. She learned to dance and sing at the same time that she learned how to walk. When she was around 20, she finished her apprenticeship with Gilberto Gil and released her first album in 1991, which became a surprise hit. Since then, she has added a dozen CDs to the list and became a star also outside of Brazil.

As a small child, he often cried for no reason, Richard Bona says, until he was given a balafon that he could play. Since then, Richard Bona’s music and his stage performance is a synonym for good times. Bona grew up in Africa, before moving to Germany at the age of 22 and later to France. There, the young bassist was immediately part of the scene. But Bona has only been truly at home since he moved to New York. There he met his brother in spirit, Raul Midón. They are the perfect pair, two brilliant singers and instrumentalists who bring the African, Latin American, European and North American worlds together. World music at its best – a feast for the senses!