Whoopi Goldberg Set for Angelique Kidjo's Tribute to Miriam Makeba at Carnegie Hall Tonight

Angélique Kidjo will headline Carnegie Hall tonight, November 5 in a tribute to "Mama Africa," the great South African singer and political activist Miriam Makeba-whom Kidjo cites as her own role model and career-long inspiration. In the preface to her autobiography Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music, out now on HarperCollins, Desmond Tutu writes, "Angélique was herself inspired by Miriam Makeba, Mother Africa, and she in her turn is now an inspiration to others with her message that, yes, the sky is the limit, and she urges them to reach for the stars."

For this special concert-which is presented as the closing event of Carnegie Hall's four-week festival, UBUNTU: Music and Arts of South Africa, dedicated to the legacy of Nelson Mandela-Kidjo will be joined on stage by Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, British solo artist Laura Mvula and the great South African folk artist Vusi Mahlasela, as well as Makeba's original backing singers: Zamokuhle "Zamo" Mbutho, Faith Kekana and Stella Khumalo. Whoopi Goldberg, who starred with Makeba in the 1992 South African film Sarafina! and was outspoken in her support of Mandela and her criticism of South African apartheid, will offer introductory remarks.

In conjunction with the show, the Paley Center for Media will screen Mika Kaurismäki's Makeba documentary, Mama Africa, on November 2 as part of the series Spotlight on South Africa. Concert tickets and information available HERE, screening information HERE.

Like Kidjo, Makeba was a Grammy-winning performer, widely recognized as the first African artist to popularize African music around the globe. She became known in the U.S. for her hit song "Pata Pata," as well as for collaborations with such artists as Harry Belafonte and Paul Simon. An outspoken political activist, she campaigned against South African apartheid (for which she was exiled), delivering historic speeches and testimonies before the United Nations General Assembly.

Kidjo was a child when she first heard Makeba sing, and she was irrevocably changed by the experience. "When I first heard her sing...I was absolutely stunned," she says. "She was African, she was a woman and she was a star. I wanted to be just like her." In 1989 the two sang together for the first time. She says of the experience, "When I saw Miriam come in, even surrounded by her entourage of musicians, she had an amazing presence-a mix of a gentle girl and a fierce warrior. When she saw I was nervous, she walked over to me, took my hand, and said, 'Don't worry. Everything will be fine.' I had never even had the chance to see one of her concerts, but now here she was, right in front of me. She thanked me for being there and her spirit was so warm and generous, like a mother."

Kidjo has spent 2014 touring the world in support of her critically acclaimed new album, Eve, out now on 429 Records, and her autobiography, Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music, out now on HarperCollins. Eve debuted at #1 on Billboard's World Music chart, as well on the World Music charts on iTunes and Amazon in both the U.S. and Canada. The standard edition may be purchased HERE and an exclusive iTunes bonus edition may be purchased HERE.

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