Field Trip: Asa Baako Festival, Ghana
Toby Hood enjoys surfing, friendly locals and live music at one of Ghana’s most lively — and eco-aware — arts festivals…
As surfers shred the waves in Busua’s beach break cove, the mellow sounds of Burkina Faso’s King Kora drift across the Atlantic ocean reaching the nearby island of Abokwa. Carnival revellers young and old dance in the village parade accompanied by an explosive brass band. Rising afro-pop artist, Wiyaala (below), rocks the headline slot as her fans storm the stage to provide backing dancing. Ghana’s Asa Baako Festival is as energetic as it is culturally diverse.
Six months ago I was posted out to Ghana’s Western Region under the title of Operations Co-ordinator for a weekend of music that attracts, on average, 2000 festival lovers. My main aim was to debunk all preconceptions of Africa as a poor and needy continent, and I was interested to see what constituted as a music festival in this completely foreign land.
My destination was Busua, a world-renowned surfing spot with a thriving backpacker community largely built around the practice of the locals’ favourite water sport. Made recently famous in the UK due to the impact of a certain Guardian article (‘An unlikely stop in the pursuit of the perfect wave’), Busua is a unique village with a local population of around 1500 and a seasonal influx of thousands of visitors. The friendly local vibe and a sizeable tourist economy make Busua the perfect location for an event like Asa Baako.
The brainchild of British-born Ghanaian Kofi Debrah and fellow events producer Richard Goddard, ‘Asa Baako – One Dance’ celebrated its fifth festival this year, which was deemed the best edition yet by the regular audience. “I’m really pleased with this year’s event and glad to hear that the audience enjoyed it too”, said a deservedly proud Debrah last week, on what is also a Ghanaian Independence Day event.
What was most prominent was the amount of integration this year; no longer a festival mainly popularised by European gap year students and US peace corps volunteers, notably there were many more weekenders from surrounding West African states such as Nigeria, Benin and neighbouring Cote D’Ivoire — prompting the chant “E-CO-WAS! E-CO-WAS!” (a collective reference to the Western African states) at one festival team meeting— as well as an increase in attendance from Ghanaian nationals.
With an all-time-high turnout of 3500 attendees, the festival is pretty well established in the country’s music scene as a nurturer of talent in all genres. Old friends like Wanlov the Kubolor (below), a half-Ghanaian, half-Romanian, afro-gypsy musician, graced the main stage for the fourth time in a row, and local youths like Takoradi-based DJ Afro Nick were introduced at Saturday night’s Jungle Party finale. Other act highlights included Algerian music and film visionaries El Foukr R’Assembly creating a lot of buzz from their first day performance, and Accra’s KyeKyeKu receiving a warm welcome from his large fan base during a Saturday afternoon appearance.
What Asa Baako has tapped into, and what’s influenced similar events like Chale Wote street festival in the notorious Capital neighbourhood of James Town, is the spirited enthusiasm for cultural inclusion that is always prevalent in the natives and expatriates to Ghana. My experience promoting music there felt like one huge festival; the country’s unfailing passion for festive dance and the public embracing of recycled goods and animal welfare are world-leading. After throwing myself into the unknown for half a year, often facing uncertainty about the stability of the project, it was an immense personal pleasure to see an arts programme like Asa Baako bringing out the best in a forward-thinking and positively receptive community.
Next year, Debrah explains, the plans for the Asa Baako are keeping in line with the concerns of “Busua residents to create a world-class music and arts festival, and increase education and awareness of conservation issues such as turtle protection, recycling and reforestation.”
The world needs more home-grown events drawing on current international development and Asa Baako is one with a lot to offer.
Toby Hood
See more on Asa Baako Festival online: asabaako.com / @asabaako
Reach Asa Baako by air: there is an airport in Takoradi; take a 30-minute flight from Accra to Takoradi, and then continue your journey by hired car or public transport. See antrakair.com or book-domestic-flights-ghana.com for flights
