La Nuit d’Afrique – From Sahel to Rhine

On June 1, 2026, the Over-the-Border Festival will celebrate its tenth anniversary with an extraordinary concert evening at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. The evening will be dedicated to a musical dialogue between the Sahel and the Rhine.

Tiken Jah Fakoly, one of Africa’s most significant and internationally renowned artists, will be part of this special concert evening. He will be joined by other musicians from West Africa and the Rhineland, including the Cape Verdean singer Élida Almeida, whose voice shines from Cape Verde, bridging tradition and modernity. The Afro-vocal ensemble led by Melane Nkounkolo further enriches this exchange, weaving African and European timbres into a purely acoustic program, musically arranged by Mike Herting, Pape Samory Seck, and Marcus Schinkel. Wolfgang Niedecken has been secured as the local ambassador. The legendary frontman of BAP thus makes his commitment to global solidarity and cultural dialogue visible. Together with the participating musicians, Wolfgang Niedecken will perform several pieces, thereby building an audible bridge from the Rhine to the Sahel.

Due to a change in the line-up, the group JERI JERI feat. Baaba Maal will unfortunately be unable to perform at the event for production-related reasons. The festival deeply regrets this and hopes to welcome the artists at a later date.

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