There is daily news about Nigerian A-list artistes almost getting used to packed-out venues, frenzied crowds of African music lovers, and growing international collaborations, all thanks to the new Afrobeats genre.
But as much as many of the Nigerian Afrobeats stars are grabbing the attention of the fans, concert organisers are taking notice of the growing audience of avid music lovers craving live African music on the global stage.
One of the contemporary musicians already filling that yearning gap is Seun Bankole.
The Nigerian multiple award-winning cross-over music star, fondly called SBLive, performs mostly original works that are firmly rooted in African musical origins of Afrobeat, Afro-hiphop, and Highlife. For some years now, SBLive —listed among the Top 5 Live Band Musicians in Nigeria— has turned into an embodiment of musical dexterity and skill.
With ease, raw energy and passion for music, SBLive alongside his seven-piece band has been crisscrossing the gamut of Nigerian contemporary genres and performing classics for the old and young, and nurturing that market by connecting physically with those music lovers in the United States and winning other fans across the globe.
Recently, the versatile musician was on tour of some major US cities with opening concerts in Maryland, Indianapolis, Rhode Island, Boston and Atlanta. The mostly sold-out concerts held between May and June also saw SBLive performed in cities like Houston, Dallas, New York and Chicago. He however returned home last week to honour some private engagements in Nigeria.
The music star will return by July ending to resume the tour with scheduled concerts in California, Las Vegas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
As one of the busiest musicians, SB Live will be having his first United Kingdom tour in September and then have his Canada tour debut in November.
SBLive who couldn’t hide his excitement at taking on the global stages said: “It’s so delightful to see the kind of acceptance my band is getting during this American tour. We’ve had so much from our US fans so I’m super excited to visit and play there while I am looking forward to thrilling African music lovers in the UK and Canada later in the year.”