We've been blessed to witness countless great performances on our stage ranging from romantic to raucous, blissful to blistering. Somehow, quite magically, The Nubian Sound Group and Sona Jobarteh and her band were all of these things at once. They were simply transcendent.

Incorporating ancient hymns, lively keys, traditional dance, and anchored by the steady hand claps of a full Sudanese American ensemble, The Nubian Sound Group made us all lose ourselves in deep grooves that seemed to stretch time.

Then our headliner Sona Jobarteh took us on a similarly spiritual journey, but this time via the kora string traditions of Gambia, in West Africa. Her voice, deft playing, stage presence, emotional connection with the audience, and her band's expert percussion and backup guitars brought the entire crowd to their feet, dancing and singing in elation.⁠ Despite her post-performance exhaustion, Sona even graciously re-emerged onto the field to sign autographs and pose for pictures with her fans. A true class act!

Our opening DJ Passionfruit (@passionfruit.wav) also threw down a global spanning set of rare pan-African music. ⁠You can catch all three of these unforgettable performances on www.youtube.com/GrandPerformances⁠