In case you have yet to hear, Philadelphia is turning it out this spring with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), a three-week arts smorgasbord centered around the theme “Paris: 1910 – 1920,” which was one of the more influential arts decades of the twentieth century.
A hundred years later, PIFA celebrates the brash and innovative artistic spirit of that decade in Paris with more than seventy-five commissioned works and over a hundred collaborating partners.
One of the more eagerly anticipated evenings occurs on the 21st of April at the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts when the Grammy-nominated Les Nubians appear. These glamorous Afro-European sisters from Paris, France are one of the most successful French-recording acts in the States. Their second album, One Step Forward (2003), featured the Top Ten single “Makeda,” as well as the Grammy-nominated “Je Veux D’la Musique.”
You know those Verve Remixed compilations? The ones they play during Fashion Week in New York, or at downtown lounges and restaurants? Les Nubians have a similar vibe: very cool and jazzy.
Remember Soul II Soul and the Fugees? Remember how you loved those albums? Les Nubians have that drum-and-bass thing going on, with seductive harmonies and contagious melodies.
Often compared to Edith Piaf and Ella Fitzgerald, these women can sing – and they’re gorgeous as well.
Spend an April evening with Les Nubians at PIFA in Philly – and you might find yourself dreaming of Paris.
LINKS: PIFA
