Bonnaroo 2014 OEB Spotlight: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – “IMF” Pairs Well With…Fela Kuti, Damien Marley, Antibalas The best part of Seun Kuti’s music is how he’s able to keep a firm grasp on his expected roots while still being able to stretch into parts unknown. 2014’s A Long Way To The Beginning is a testament to that – kicking off with the immediacy of rally cry “IMF” right to the intricate horn jam “African Airways”. Afrobeat’s consciousness is elevated throughout the record, but you won’t be able to avoid kicking your shoes off and breaking your shit down at a Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 set. The band’s Bonnaroo set (2:00 at That Tent on Friday) is part of an international tour over through June and July. 2012 Review: Many famous musicians’ children follow in their parents footsteps and few are able to step out of the shadow cast by their success. Seun Kuti has taken a unique path in forming his own identity in music by joining his father Fela’s band, Egypt 80, at a young age and becoming the lead singer at 14 when his father passed away. His newest album From Africa With Fury: Rise, co-produced by Brian Eno, is a sophomore album with a punch. The band and Seun’s high energy live presence makes them a very cool show option.

Bonnaroo 2014 OEB Spotlight: La Santa Cecilia Pairs Well With…Gaby Moreno, Rodriguez Y Gabriela, David Wax Museum La Santa Cecilia doesn’t go too far off script on their latest record Someday New, but that’s not to say anything here is dissipated from the band’s fascinating, hybrid sound. The opening cover of “Strawberry Fields Forever” is a fine example, moving from jazz to psych rock to Latin folk verse by verse. The rest of the record sticks to the band’s native tongue with a few twisty pop exceptions (check the chorus of “Someday, Someday New” for a spin), a comfortable space where the band’s music sounds strongest, traditional or forward thinking alike. La Santa Cecilia open up a killer showcase of World Music at Bonnaroo’s That Tent at 12:30 on Friday. 2013 Review: The acoustic traditions of cultures from all over Western hemisphere are represented within La Santa Cecilia’s music, highlighted by the emotional and sharp toned vocals of La Marisoul. Their last EP actually featured a mix of covers, including stripped down, cumbia-tinged versions of “Tainted Love” and U2’s “One”. While the band performs admirably as an upbeat folk-mariachi unit, it are the slower ballads that are truly mind-blowing, from their take on Lhasa de Sela’s “Love Come Here” and lone 2012 original “El Valor”. La Santa Cecilia’s multi-cultural approach to acoustic folk/rock could be something special in the coming years and I’m not the only one who thinks so – the band just signed on with Universal Music Latino last month