Our very own Dayo Ayodele was featured in The Idaho Statesman's ‘The Idahoan Project: Finding Common Ground.’ You can watch the mini-documentary featuring reporters talking to Idahoans who, they hoped, were as diverse as could be — multigeneration Idahoans, the next generation & newcomers here.
Dayo Ayodele was born in Nigeria, came to the United States to go to school in 1981 and moved to Idaho four years ago.
“I’ve adopted Idaho as my state, as my home, and Boise, especially, as my city,” Ayodele said. His daughter is growing up here. “That’s more of me having roots in Idaho.”
Ayodele works in insurance, but music, and his band The Afrosonics, is where his heart and soul is. That’s what brings Idahoans together.
“I believe the music that (the Afrosonics) do is actually Idaho music, really,” he says. “Because it’s all the influences of everybody growing up here and me moving here.” He brings his musical and cultural roots from Nigeria, and it all mixes it with band members’ other influences.
“It’s like a soup of different elements, and most of them are from Idaho,” he said. “It’s not African only. It’s all the culture that kind of sprouts from here.”
Global Lounge affiliate Stephen Aifegha named Top 10 Black American Artists to Watch in 2023 by Singulart. Stephen is an award-winning African artist based in the United States whose paintings have been exhibited nationally.
Read MoreGlobal Lounge is honored and proud to present "Many Voices, One Song” as part of the Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America program. In collaboration with Facebook, this free live stream performance series unites artists and audiences to celebrate performing arts from communities across the country. ”Many Voices, One Song” is made possible thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Velma V. Morrison Center through their support in helping to deliver the joy of music and dance as we navigate this global challenge together. Join this free live stream presentation featuring members of Idaho’s multi-national community.
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