No show like a Showkey show

The blurb for Daddy Showkey says “No other African musician has made such an impact on the world music scene since Fela Kuti”. It's a high bar to set yourself, but from the minute the pulsing rhythms herald Showkey's ascension to the stage of Blazers in the Longford Arms there was a feeling this was going to be fire.

Last year Connolly Barracks hosted Ireland's first Irish African Carnival. Longford's Culture Night 2022 throbbed with rhythms of Nigerian Dance Hall as the Lagos entertainer cast a spell over the gathered multitude.

His boisterous performance saw the galala singer leap from stage into the crowd, encouraging and leading members in the ghetto dance of his home city. The infectious sound is only half of the Showkey show. He commands the audience, part preacher part teacher.

Towards the end of the set Showkey brought performance artist Shane Kennedy, whose tribute to Bob Dylan earlier in the evening was well received, to join in the rhythms. What unfolded was an electric fusion of beat.

Before the Nigerian magician's set Longford's Four Degrees West started the party with a bunch of songs that showcase their considerable talent. The group opted for the “loud, sweaty, rambunctious late night concert” over their trad offerings. They established the tone for the evening with tunes that filled the dance floor.

The Irish African Carnival is everything Culture Night aspires to be.