Keziah Jones - musical return to Belgrade

This July, a Nigerian singer is coming back to Belgrade as he promised at his performance five years ago

Monday 24th of July 2017

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The performer, that Belgrade audience has missed, returns to the center of the city events. Courts at Kalemegdan, the summer scene of the Bitef Art Cafe precisely will be the host of a special musician, who created a special musical genre and called it blufunk, on 26th July at 22:00. As he says, he plays the guitar like percussion because it`s so blues, so funk, really rhythmic and Afro.


Keziah Jones (his real name is Olufemi Sanyaol) has created an authentic combination of blues and a strong funk. An unusual combination of musical performance has made this singer, songwriter, composer and guitarist a world-renowned personality. Belgrade is still talking about the concert and after party in 2008 when the performance won the title club event of the decade. The audience eagerly anticipates that the calendar shows it is time for another memorable event and new musical memories. Tickets are available at all box offices of Eventim network and at Summer Stage BitefArtCafe.

He was born on 10th January 1968 in Nigeria. His descent had a great influence on his work in music, so the presence of Yoruba and soul music can be felt. A kind of guitar playing and percussive right-wing technique, similar to technical bass guitarists, are a trademark of the musician playing in the whole world. He spent his early childhood in Lagos as a member of a large family. The father wanted his son to become an academic citizen and enrolled him into a public school in London when he was eight years old. The young man was not overly thrilled with the plan, and music became an escape from an imposed election. At the age of 13, he discovered a piano and taught how to play and write songs. After three years, he switched to a guitar, and he began to neglect the school. Against his father`s ambitions and family tradition, he left school and moved to the side of the underground, and underworld and clubs in London became his route. He started very young with a bohemian way of life that he described with the lyrics of the song "Free Your Soul" - spend time, love your mind, free your soul!


Wandering between London and Paris, he has gained the reputation of a talented musician and charismatic artist with a unique style of "hard funk". He started big development in music career in 1990 when he started with bigger gigs. The first single that opened the door to world fame "Rhythm Is Love" was released in 1992. He believes that the experience of playing in the Paris metro was the most important. By 2008, Keziah Jones has released five studio albums and one live album. The period from 2009 to 2012 was marked by numerous appearances in shows and performances at big festivals. He decided to return to his birth-town Lagos and prepare to record a new album he promoted in 2013. He was also involved in the film industry in 2015 when he had a role in the film "Eva & Leon".