Every day is Fela Day.

Tomorrow, August 2d, marks the eighth anniversary of Fela's death, due to AIDS.

Brett Cook-Dizney. Painting of Fela done
for Red Hot Fela Project Party. (2001)

To honor the day, African Shrine Entertainment Productions & The Foundation for Democracy in Africa, in collaboration with C.O.U.M.B.A. Foundation, Inc., will present the second annual African AIDS Awareness Concert in honor of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: ten hours of live music at Kalakuta Rebublic, Lagos. For those who can't make it to Nigeria, there will also be a Fela Day celebration in Brooklyn this Saturday, the 6th, at Cadman Plaza, from noon until 8pm. Among the scheduled performers: Kaleta; Wonderland Afrobeat Orchestra; Dead Prez' M1; Sandra Isidore; Randy Weston; Talib Kweli; Mos Def; Roy Ayers. (No Antibalas seems a little weird, though they appear to be in France.) It is FREE. And for those closer to DC, there will be another day-long Afrobeat extravaganza on Fela's birthday, October 15th --- location and lineup to be announced. (Though one hopes, certainly, for an appearance by the Baltimore Afrobeat Society.)