When bandmates Reuben Koroma and Francis Lamgba of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars first began creating music, it was not so much for the sake of art or love of music as it was a way to remove themselves from reality. They, along with thousands of others, had been thrust from their homes following an attack by rebel forces on the capital city of Sierra Leone. This massive exodus of people left their homeland, finding only fleeting refuge in the unkind refugee camps of Guinea, West Africa.
And now, after years of suffering, the group of musicians tours the world as Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, spreading their reggae/afro-beat-influenced music wrought with messages of hope and peace. In this context, it was quite amazing to see them smile so broadly as they took the stage.
The group filtered onto the Blue Note's stage, most of them wearing green cloth suits with horizontal white stripes featuring darkened silhouettes of birds in white circles. Reuben M. Koroma, the lead singer and bandleader, was dressed in a loose white robe with sequins that sparkled beneath the changing colors of the overhead lights.
As they took up their instruments, reggae began immediately pouring from the speakers, the heavy tones of the bass and the upbeat strumming of the rhythm guitar covering the hall in a flood of sound. As I looked down at the audience from above, it became clear that most everyone could feel the music rattling in their bones. Although there were certainly exceptions to this rule in the early part of the show (some of the indie kids seemed to be rather puzzled as to whether they should be dancing or not), eventually the audience became one unified, swaying movement. But as the show progressed, an increasing amount of people began to connect with the music on an individualistic level and even imitated the high-step dancing onstage.
The hope-filled music continued through the evening, taking form in infectious chants such as, "We will not cry/ We will not cry"; though, the truly significant aspect of the evening was undoubtedly the musicians on stage. Even from above, I could tell that their faces, albeit noticeably weathered and worn, were stretched wide in gleaming smiles. Numerous times, Alhaji Jeffrey Kamara ("Black Nature"), a percussionist, came to the front of the stage, took the microphone, and, in a voice raspier than anything I've ever heard, began rapping. Once he had finished his vocals, he leapt across the stage with his feet kicking high into the air, dancing with his entire body. The rest of the night followed suit, with nearly all of the band members taking their turn to dance at the front of the stage.
The only issue that I had with the concert was the venue in which it was held. When the Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars came to Columbia this past fall for a community festival, they were on an outside stage and had an almost preternatural effect on the entire body of the audience. While the Blue Note show as a whole was certainly a memorable one, the cramped space of an indoor venue seems to confine the personality and music of this group, which is much better suited to the borderless outdoors. Nonetheless, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are a captivating live act, and you'd do good to check them out for yourself.
