When the support band kicks the night off with a standing ovation, there’s a buzz and high hopes for the headliner, which on this Tuesday night at Glasgow’s much-loved Celtic Connections was the energised and funky Femi Kuti. Having never performed at the festival, and playing as part of a very short tour across the UK, there was an indulgent warmth amidst the venue, as we watched the politicised performer own that stage, with his backing band, The Positive Force.
Afro-Latin percussion & brass duet, Ladies of Midnight Blue, AKA Hannabiell Sanders and Yilis Del Carmen Suriel, blew us all away with their short drum support set that got us all singing, ‘Collaboration not competition, quieten the mind and focus on the mission.’ With an abundance of energy, big drumming sounds and the occasional blow of the trombone, the duet tickled us for a night heavy of the smile-inducing afro-beat. And the rapturous applause pre-Femi got us all in the mood for precisely that – more afrobeat.


The eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, Femi showcased his buoyancy and saxophone skills to the Glasgow audience while also trying to channel much of his father. Playing tracks such as ‘Truth Don Die’ as well as the latest single release, ‘Politics Don Expose Them’ you can probably already anticipate the chats on stage; militant, politicised and yet forgiving for years of colonialisation and yet condemning for the state of country’s governments, there’s a sense that Femi is too, like his father, trying to sing for the people. By closing the gig stating that he believes ‘that doing what is right is already a prayer,’ there’s as much hope in that room as any other emotion in this afro-beat tumult. Femi set the city on fire with heart for one night alone.