After spending the last five years presenting an annual week-long arts festival at the world-renowned Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, Afro-punk is now ready to take the festival on the road in 2010. So to warm things up they will be hitting several major cities this fall. With an explosive mix of music, Xtreme sports, and visual art, audiences around the country will now be able to experience what the Afro-punk community has known for years: that this scene is one of the most electrifying and creative communities in America.

Described by the New York Times as putting “rock and rebellion squarely in the category of African-American music,” Afro-punk is ready to break nationally. The festival has a history of presenting new artists before they hit it big, such as Grammy-nominated Santogold, The Noisettes and Janelle Monae, who performed at the 2008 festival. The 2009 Afro-punk Tour Lineup will feature at select dates The London Souls, Hollywood Holt, Krak Attack, Activator,The Smyrk, J*Davey, Irradio, American Fangs, along with additional artists added in each local market. 

What is Afro-punk?
Inspired by the the seminal film Afro-punk (2003), spotlighting Black Punks in America, Afro-punk is a growing cultural movement giving a voice to thousands of multi-cultural kids fiercely identifying with a lifestyle path-less-traveled. Not unlike the early days of Hip-Hop, the scene is a touchstone for tens of thousands of urban progressive kids across the nation (and the globe) who, tired of feeling like outsiders, have sought out  Afropunk.com, where thousands of users, bands, bloggers, and activists gather to and connect with the Afro-punk community.

Ground Zero for this movement is the annual Afro-punk Film, Skate, BMX and Art Festival, launched in Brooklyn in 2005. The festival celebrates and unified the cultural cornerstones of Afro-punk: music, film, skate, and most importantly, the fiercely independent and influential individuals that are the lifeblood of the AP community. Afro-punk has featured an intensely diverse group of artists over the years, including The Noisettes (London), The Dirtbombs (Detroit), Saul Williams (Los Angeles), Ebony Bones (London), Pure Hell (Philadelphia), Earl Greyhound (Brooklyn), The Apes (Washington DC), as well as trend-spotting recent Grammy nominees Janelle Monae and Little Jackie at last year’s festival. AP has also garnered praise from a wide range of media outlets ranging from Pitchfork, URB, Vibe, andNylon to Variety, Entertainment Weekly, and The Los Angeles Times, and was the subject of an “Urban Eye” video feature by Melena Ryzik in the New York Times last year.  

Like every powerful music-based movement, Afro-punk is deeper, broader, and more complex than a simple genre designation. AP is a provocative social statement -- a remixed global aesthetic that influences youth fashion and personal style, and inspires a multitude of artists in a variety of disciplines as they come together to embrace and celebrate the AP culture. We invite you to join us in this celebration!

TOUR DATES
10/21: New York, NY @ Fillmore Irving Plaza (CMJ Performance)
10/22: Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
10/23; Toronto, ONT @ Opera House
10/25: Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
10/26: Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
10/27: Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10/30: Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
10/31: Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street
11/1: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
11/4: Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
11/5: Orlando, FL @ The Social
11/6: New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
11/8: Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
11/10: San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
11/12: San Diego, CA @ Delta Room
11/13: Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy
11/15: Portland, OR @ The Aladdin Theater
11/16: Seattle, WA Neumos
11/17: Vancouver, BC @ Venue