Noble's Featured Artist of the Month

ADAAWE is seven dynamic, diverse women creating rich organic music of the voice and drum, which comes from the heart and speaks to the soul!



In the Adaawe tradition of Ghana, West Africa, women gather in the moonlight to create music and sing songs about life’s joys and sorrows. Through constant improvisation, they breathe new life into ancient music. Their spirit of celebration and strength is the inspiration behind ADAAWE.



These beautiful and skilled percussionists and vocalists come from all over the world, and their music is an international fusion of African Diaspora music and rhythms, R&B/pop vocals, arresting Gospel vocal harmonies, and funky original creations. ADAAWE’s music is organic, spiritual, and exciting. They reclaim music as a force for healing and celebration. In this time of national turmoil, ADAAWE seeks to unite, with music that can reach every segment of our diverse American population. ADAAWE brings world music to the mainstream, African drums to pop culture, and meaning back to music.



Since 1996, ADAAWE has performed locally and nationally at colleges, universities, performing arts venues, music festivals, and community events. The 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 touring seasons featured over 60 live performances, workshops, and educational activities in Southern California and across the United States. Through these appearances, ADAAWE spread its music and gained a loyal following.



ADAAWE is working on a world premier album...watch this site for news on this upcoming smash hit!!
ADAAWE is currently in the studio recording an AIDS song: "TUENDE KWA MAJI" (Let's Go To The Water [River]), with world renown producer, Cedric Samson.





In the past year, ADAAWE:

Released their initial CD, Six Women Strong;


Were featured in a national Hyundai commercial soundtrack;


Appear in a movie trailer for KCRW, an L.A. public radio station, in Laemmle Theaters;


Are featured in The World Festival of Sacred Music -- The Americas documentary (Catchlight Films, 2000);


Their song, Aye Buur Yalla, is featured on the World Festival CD (Bindu Records, 2000), which was heard on several fundraising broadcasts of KCET, L.A.;


Were featured in Drum Magazine, March/April 2002 issue;


Were featured in Sister Celebration 2001, presented July 13th as part of the John Anson Ford Amphitheater's 2001 Summer Series;


Appeared in Whispers of an Easy Evening, the Robinson Project celebrity benefit, at the Alex Theater in Glendale; and


Appeared in Voices for a Green LA sponsored by the Department of Water and Power at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center, starring Yolanda Adams and Los Lobos.



ADAAWE take their audiences on an unforgettable musical journey. Come travel with them into a new day of music!



Talking Drums
Now you have seen something truly wonderful...these women, these different faces from all over the world, this music is what will bring us all together. - Babatunde Olatunji




The six-woman-strong African musical group, ADAAWE, transformed UCSB's MultiCultural Center Theatre into an international kaleidoscope of sights and sounds utilizing an extensive array of African drums and percussion instruments accompanied by multilingual vocals and a capella exclamations of ancestral joy. It was extraordinary to see women play large drums with an intensity and preciseness equal to any man's. - Santa Barbara Independent




The crowd also was delighted by the invigorating, seven-woman percussion group ADAAWE... - Steve Hochman, Los Angeles Times




ADAAWE, an international six-member group of women singers and percussionists, could be described as L.A.'s answer to Zap Mama. - Los Angeles Weekly




A potent, a capella force...powerful drumbeats...beautiful, good, good music. - DJ Nnamdi Moweta, KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles




You're going to love them! - Barb Junger, BBC Radio, Scotland




The product of long African research trips and a profound understanding of what makes a piece come alive. The show is an irresistible combination of diverse musical traditions in song and dance, delivered with energy and commitment in a warm and celebratory atmosphere. - The Scotsman




Propelled by the surging rhythm of ancient drums, female voices conquer the afternoon stillness. - UCLA Daily Bruin




Feel the beat with ADAAWE! - Los Angeles Parent Magazine
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