The nine-piece band Mampama rounded off a diverse and interesting Rye Arts Festival programme in the Community Centre, Conduit Hill, on Saturday, September 28. Mampama, from Kent and London, formed in 2015 through a love of West African music styles – from Sierra Leone and the great Ghanaian fusion of traditional rhythms and jazz with some Kenyan influence. The music was infectious and the musicians were each one of them individually brilliant but performing as a great team. The audience was also able to glean some knowledge of the history behind the pieces.
Initially the atmosphere was quiet but as the performance continued, some of the audience got up to dance and in the second half most were on their feet having fun, absolutely loving the sound and rhythm, asking for more at the end. The musicians themselves looked as if they were enjoying themselves putting all the emotions in the room into their enthusiastic playing.
Image Credits: Heidi Foster .