Don Was who is the headliner at Concert of Colors this weekend is recording a song for Peace in Sudan with members of the Sudanese musicians here in Royal Oak at Rustbelt Studios.
Detroiter Don Was Joins Sudan’s Leading Performers to Record Song for Amnesty International and Link TV
Detroit, MI (July 14, 2008) – As the International Criminal Court in The Hague this week considers issuing an arrest warrant for the president of Sudan for alleged war crimes, Sudan’s leading performing artists are in the U.S., calling for an end to violence in their nation.
Under the banner Sudan United for Peace, these artists are making just two American stops – one last week in Chicago and one this Saturday night, July 19, at the 16th Concert of Colors, at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit.
But first, the Sudanese artists join native Detroiter and Grammy Award winner Don Was, another Concert of Colors artist, to collaborate on a song calling for peace in Sudan. The Thursday afternoon session at Royal Oak’s Rustbelt Studios marks a timely intersection between politics and culture as well as a fascinating pairing of divergent musical forms.
Amnesty International will use the song as part of its effort to draw attention to the situation in the Sudan. The Rustbelt session will be taped by nonprofit satellite channel Link TV for a future program.
The recording session was conceived and planned by Concert of Colors founder Ismael Ahmed; Ralph Valdez, curator of cultural programming at the Arab American National Museum, a festival presenter; Don Was; and Dawn Elder, who is managing the Sudanese tour. It is being underwritten in part by the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. All are available for interview, as is a spokesman for the Sudanese performers.