September 4, 2014 8:00 PM Afrolicious and Zongo Junction at World Cafe Live PHL

Afrolicious's sound combines soulful lyrics, funky bass lines, a sprinkle of jazz horns, while retaining the soul and feel of classic funk, disco, Latin, and Afrobeat melodies. These are the type of songs you can blast in your car for some feel-good crusin' or dance to at the club. The name "Afrolicious" was even inspired by a 2006 weekly dance party at Elbo Room San Francisco; brothers Joe and Oz McGuire—also known as DJs Pleasuremaker and Señor Oz—first collaborated with producers, DJ's and musicians to craft their group's sound.

The musicians that make up Afrolicious also come from as diverse a background as the band's music. Freshislife, the lead singer on several tracks of California Dreaming, was originally a star Calypso dancer in Trinidad and Tobago before relocating to San Francisco. Vocalist and percussionist Baba Duru was in the original Headhunters and was featured on the classic B-Boy anthem "God Made Me Funky".

This collective released their new album California Dreaming this past March, after releasing two previous EPs with Thievery Corporation's label ESL Music. The weekly Afrolicious parties are still thriving in SF to date. This last year has seen the Afrolicious live band play at such legendary venues as Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado and upcoming gigs include the Greek Theater in Berkeley.

Zongo Junction
Exploding from the center of Brooklyn's vibrant afrobeat scene, Zongo Junction electrifies dance floors wherever they perform. Packed with four horns, and a five-piece rhythm section, audiences can't help but move no matter where the band is playing. If the Talking Heads produced a Fela Kuti record of Sun Ra's music, the product would probably sound something like this psychedelic afrobeat outfit.

In an industry where it has become commonplace to watch bands perform with laptops & backing tracks instead of live musicians, Zongo Junction takes the stage 9 strong. The Village Voice describes their live show as "Sheer energy with the force of a tractor-trailer that roars with power and noise" while the SF Chronicle says that "Zongo Junction plays its own fractured version of Afro-beat and generates an unstoppable groove when it takes the stage."

The band formed in 2009, when drummer and California native, Charles Ferguson, returned from a six-month stay in Ghana, West Africa. "Growing up in the Bay Area, I was exposed to a lot of amazing music from many different cultures, a lot of which had roots in West Africa. My love of African music brought me to Ghana in 2008 and when I returned home, I knew I wanted to start this band." Soon after Charles' return, Zongo Junction started rehearsing and developing a following in Brooklyn. The group has proven to be a favorite booking at venues like Brooklyn Bowl, The Great American Music Hall, and colleges, festivals and performing arts centers around the country.

World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut St.
Philadelphia Pa
Tickets $10-$12.