Afro-poppers, Elikeh, are no strangers in the DC music scene. They represent a wide range of cultures, and joined us for our 5GB series before their album release show at Black Cat.

What’s the first gig you ever attended?

Can’t really remember the very first, but I remember going to see Alpha Blondy when I was very young. In the late 80's and early 90's, everybody was talking about this African reggae star as the next Bob Marley. He came to my country (Togo) and was playing in a stadium in the capital. I skipped school and went to see the show. The place was packed, and It was an amazing show!

What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?

Elikeh had many gigs that I like. One of them was at a Jazz club called Bohemian Caverns in DC. No dance floor. people were sitting and itching to dance . At a certain point they just moved chairs and tables away and the whole room started dancing. At the end of the show the club owner said to us ” you turned my jazz club into a dance club”

What is the best gig you have ever seen?

Femi Kuti at 9:30 club in DC, in 2010 new stuff were happening every second and all over the stage. His dancers were doing their things on the left side of the stage, he was in the middle doing his thing, the horn players dancing and taking turn on soloing , the guitar player and the bass player doing the same moves… It was a great show.

What is the gig you would most like to play?

There are many gigs we would love to play. Bonaroo is one of them. everyone in the band wants to play that gig. I can thing also think of Austin City Limits.