Call it a francophone music takeover!
Legendary Haitian band Tabou Combo and Guadeloupean dancehall artist Admiral T took over Prospect Park at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival on July 29. The artists took the stage as part of the annual concert series hosted by BRIC every year. Music lovers from all around the world came to dance and see the creole and French-speaking performers, even if they were not familiar with an artist, said one guest who jazzed to Tabou Combo’s medleys.
“I really like their music. I don’t know really know the names of their songs, but I liked the sound of it,” said Axel Samphor who is from Martinique.
Samphor attended the concert with his girlfriend who also came to see Admiral T, and she says the couple came early enough to enjoy the band’s entire appearance.
“It was my first time hearing them and I liked them,” said Sidonie Cayambo from Reunion, a French-speaking country off the eastern coast of Africa.
The band founded in 1968 performed some of their hit songs such as “Mabouya” and “Haiti” for guests just over an hour and a half, before handing off the stage to Admiral T. The popular dancehall singer performed for the second half of the show, showing off his high-energy dance movies and sang some of his hits like “Mesi Manman” and “Zonbi,” which is a fan favorite, said Samphor.
But the best part of the concert was Admiral T closing off the show with a cover of a classic song by Guadeloupean band Kassav.
“The whole show was great and it was good when they made a tribute to Kassav — I really liked that,” said Samphor.
