A documentary about Staff Benda Bilili starts at 7h., concert starts at 9h. http://staffbendabilili.com/
-press release-
Staff Benda Bilili’s inspirational live shows and extraordinary story have caused a stir across the globe. The band name translates as ‘look beyond appearances’ – literally: ‘put forward what is hidden.’ A group of paraplegic street musicians who live in and around Kinshasa zoo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they consider themselves the real journalists of Kinshasa. Their songs document and comment on events relating to their everyday experiences, and resonate with the pulse of Congolese rumba, of Cuban swing and, at times, even of the Godfather Of Soul himself, James Brown.The core of the group consists of four singer/guitarists perched on spectacular customised tricycles, backed by an energetic rhythm section, and topped off with the infectious guitar-like sounds of a teenage prodigy, who plays a one-stringed electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can.The band triumphed at the Cannes Film Festival last year with Benda Bilili, a heartwarming documentary filled to the brim with unforgettable characters and, of course, fantastic music. The band’s acclaimed debut album Très Très Fort is out now on Crammed.
