Keyshia Cole & Asa confirmed for Calabar Jazz Festival this Easter

Organisers of the Calabar International Jazz Festival have
announced today that Grammy-nominated R&B singer Keyshia Cole and the
multi-talented songstress Asa have joined the already star-studded lineup
scheduled for 18-21 April 2014.

Cole is well-known in Nigeria for her hits ‘I Should Have
Cheated’ and ‘Heaven Sent’, and her two BET reality TV series ‘Keyshia Cole:
The Way It Is’ and ‘Keyshia and Daniel: Family First’. Asa returns after a
triumphant performance at last year’s Festival, where she wowed the crowd,
switching effortlessly between vocals, guitar, trumpet and some fancy footwork.

Conoisseurs of smooth jazz, R ‘n’ B and African dance music
can look forward to fabulous performances by Hugh Masekela, Liquideep, Jimmy
Dludlu and Micasa Music (South Africa), Timotha Lanae (USA), Gwyn Jay Allen
(UK) and local superstars Dare Art Alade, Yinka Davies and Kunle Ayo. Dludlu
was invited to return after a spell-binding show in 2013, while living legend
Masekela is a frequent visitor who considers Calabar his ‘home away from home’.
He will anchor a special Peace Concert, a private event hosted by His
Excellency, Sen. Liyel Imoke, to highlight the futile and senseless killings
around Nigeria.

According to the Governor of Cross River, the
invitation-only concert is an important one: “Having endured the horrors
of Apartheid, we feel it is fitting to have Hugh Masekela help us to highlight
this disturbing new trend in parts of our beloved country, even as we search
for solutions. We must never forget the victims.”

Calabar Jazz Festival is the backbone of a great Easter
weekend break for Nigerians, looking forward to escaping hectic city life in
Lagos, Aubuja and Port Harcourt. Calabar beckons with its reputation for being
the cleanest, greenest and safest state capital in Nigeria. In addition to the
concerts, there will be fun day-time activities and tours for all the family,
fabulous VIP after-parties, and, of course, an opportunity to sample some of
the local delicacies which have made Calabar famous with food lovers.

While the concerts will light up the night at Calabar’s
Cultural Centre, with a glittering array of music stars, the venue will play
host to an intriguing range of daytime activities. Music Meets Photography
brings together some of Nigeria’s most promising creative photographers with an
audience seemingly addicted to being ‘snapped’, against a backdrop of live jazz
and local music. Art lovers will be able to visit a gallery of beautiful
paintings and sculpture, curated by Terra Kulture, in the large and imposing
lobby.

The confirmed line-up of artistes for the Calabar International Jazz
Festival from 18th – 20th April is as follows:

Friday
18th

·        
Jimmy
Dludlu                                                     

·        
Salvadore
Sango’        

Saturday
19th

·        
Asa

·        
Micasa
Music                            

·        
Kunle
Ayo            

Sunday
20th

·        
Keyshia
Cole

·        
Darey

·        
Liquideep                         

·        
Gwyn
Jay Allen

Monday
21st (private event, by invitation only)

·        
Hugh
Masekela

·        
Yinka
Davies

Tickets start from just N15,000 per night and are available
at Jumia.com. All-inclusive travel packages to Calabar (flights, hotel, concert
tickets, after-parties and ground transfers) are available from Leadway Travel
& Tours (07042631730, info@leadwaytours.com). Sponsors include Bouygues
Construction, General Electric, NAIRDA, Hennessy and NetConstruct; while media
partners include MTV Base, EbonyLife TV, Beat FM and Classic FM.