Intoxicating Beats: Searching For The Bay Area's African Music Scene – KQED

A band performing on stage in a dimly lit, colorful room with red curtains and vibrant wall art. Various musical instruments, including a keyboard, congas, and guitars are visible, filling the space with an infectious energy reminiscent of African music. This scene feels like a hidden gem in the Bay Area.

Read the transcript here.

The Bay Area has a vibrant and eclectic music scene, but when Jessica Kariisa moved here last year she couldn’t find many places playing the African dance hits she loves. She’d spent time in big East Coast cities like Washington, D.C. and New York that have large, visible African populations, so she was surprised that she didn’t see many people that looked like her in either San Jose, where she lives, or San Francisco, where she works.

But African music is her passion, so Jessica went on a mission to find it. Her…