Wiyaala announces UK tour dates with GRRRL

Upper West songstress Wiyaala will join all-girl group GRRRL next week to begin rehearsals for a nationwide tour of UK venues and festivals later this month.
GRRRL is a bespoke electronic music collaboration between independent revolutionary women artists from around the world coming together to tell their collective stories of life, conflict, inequality and change through music.  Fusing together sounds of dark techno, ghetto bass, hip hop, dancehall, reggae, soul and electronic, GRRRL is packed with purpose and has a message to tell.
The tour will also include panel discussions where the women will share their stories about the impact music has had on their lives, the role of women within the music industry, and the changes they intend to bring to their communities through their music.
Under the musical direction of Brazil’s Laima Leyton (Mixhell/Soulwax/LCD Soundsystem), the project will feature an exhilarating mix of influential artists, including 2009 Mercury prize winning rapper – Speech Debelle; Zimbabwe’s Rapper Queen, AWA – African Women Arise; the Queen of Brazilian Dancehall – Lei Di Dai; “The Young Lioness of Africa” – Wiyaala; original nu-jazz and folk singer from Cape Town – Nono Nkoane; traditional Bangladeshi vocalist – Sohini Alam and DJ and percussionist from Caracas, Venezuela – MABE.
The tour kicks off with an industry night in London at Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club on the 23^rd August and then stops off at Folklore, London on the 24^th August, then moves to the Main Stage and the Rebel Soul Tent on the 26^th and 27^th August at the Shambala Festival. GRRRL will headline the Greenbelt Festival on the 28^th August and then move to the Soup Kitchen in Manchester on the 31^st August. The final appearance will be on the Main Stage at the Hull Freedom Festival on the 2^nd September.
Wiyaala says she is honoured to be selected to part of GRRRL. “It’s a long journey from Funsi, but I’m proud to represent my culture, women and the positive values of Ghana internationally.”
The GRRRL project is created by In Place Of War (IPOW) and is funded by the Arts Council and the PRS Foundation of England.