Plunky & Oneness of Juju Folk Fest Concerts
Plunky & the Oneness of Juju to Perform at the 2019 Richmond Folk Festival Legendary Afro-jazz group, Plunky & the Oneness of Juju, will perform three sets at the 2019 Richmond Folk Festival on October 12 and 13. The festival, which presents music from all over the world on six stages and multiple pavilions, draws an attendance of more than 200,000 over the course of its three-day weekend in Richmond, VA.
Oneness of Juju, pioneers of Afro-funk and go-go, was established in 1975 by J. Plunky Branch. The group’s landmark albums, African Rhythms, Space Jungle Luv, and Every Way But Loose are considered classics in the annals of independent African jazz and Black consciousness music.
For the Richmond Folk Festival, Plunky will bring together several of the group’s original members and guest artists who have performed with him over the past 40 years to create a 16-piece Afro-funk-Go-Go Arkestra. Original founding members, percussionist Michael Babatunde Lea, bassist P. Muzi Branch, and vocalist Lady Eka-Ete, will be joined by band alumni: Ghanaian master drummer, Asante (formerly with Hugh Masekela, the Jazz Crusaders, Lonnie Liston Smith, Fleetwood Mac, and the Paul Simon Graceland tour); guitarist Ras Mel Glover (formerly with the Wailers, Eddie Grant and Awareness Art Ensemble); pianist Dr. Weldon Hill; and members of the current touring ensemble, Plunky & Oneness.
The Oneness of Juju Afro-Funk Go-Go Arkestra will perform several compositions from Plunky’s extensive repertoire, including “African Rhythms,” a song included on numerous compilations in Europe and Japan. “African Rhythms” was sampled by hip-hop producer J Dilla in the 1990s and, more recently, by rapper, J. Cole and it was one of the songs that influenced the creation of go-go music in Washington, DC. The song became popular in the mid-1970s when Howard University’s radio station, WHUR-FM, used it as the theme song for its news show, “The Daily Drum,” and when Oneness of Juju was booked to perform numerous shows with Chuck Brown, Gil Scott Heron, Hugh Masekela, Experience Unlimited, and other performers in the DC area.
Plunky & the Oneness of Juju will perform at the Richmond Folk Festival Saturday at 3 PM on the main stage and again at 7 PM in the dance pavilion. On Sunday the group will close out the festival at 5 PM partying in the dance pavilion.
Complete Richmond Folk Festival Schedule: https://www.richmondfolkfestival.org/schedule
Plunky & Oneness of Juju Festival Bio:
For over 50 years, Richmond saxophonist and bandleader J. Plunky Branch has been at the vanguard of Afro-centric jazz, funk, house music, and go-go, weaving these interrelated musical forms into a forward-looking message of empowerment, positivity, and cultural awareness. At this year’s Richmond Folk Festival, he’s launching a new Afro-funk go-go orchestra that revisits his classic mid-1970s Oneness of Juju band while exploring new musical horizons.
(Read complete program bio: https://www.richmondfolkfestival.org/performers-2019/2019/8/23/plunky-amp-the-oneness-of-juju