Of course I'm talking about Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars, who are Bastille Days' most major headliner this year, and definitely on my list of things to do tomorrow afternoon. SLRAS is literally a group formed by refugees, one of the tragedies that befell their tiny West African Nation in recent years. They show that even bad things can ultimately lead to far better ones as they found each other through that experience and the amazing band that came out of that, is now one of West Africa's best.
Which of course drew them to my attention and I've been playing their music on the radio since. While the story on them is out, I still feel too many people have slept on the amazing release Radio Salone, which came out in 2012 and was one of my favrites of the entire year. A heady mix of afropop, tribal interludes and reggae cooked up just right. I played a hot lil number at noon and am hoping they play that and other favorites at one of their two sets tomorrow afternoon and evening. They'll be on the Cathedral Square Stage at 4:30 and 9pm and I might be there for both!