Why AFROPUNK Fest 2017 Was The One in the London Summer Festival Landscape

Nao with the jams

Our obsession with singer, Nao is unashamed and well documented. One of the UK’s most innovative R&B acts, Nao absolutely did not disappoint at AFROPUNK 2017. She performed several body shakers off her shimmering debut album, For All We Know, and had the crowd moving like no other. Relive some of the moments below and check out our coverage of her headline London gig here.

#Throwback to @this_nao’s @afropunk performance. ‘Apple cherry’ & ‘In the Morning’ are the jams! . . #afropunk #AFROPUNKLONDON #AfropunkFestival #soul #soulmusic #livemusic #nao #rnb #alternative #alternativesoul #festival #festivalseason

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#Badblood #nao #AFROPUNKLONDON

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@this_nao literally lit up the stage with her performance of ‘In The Morning’ at @afropunk. . . #AfropunkFestival #AFROPUNKLONDON #afropunk #nao #inthemorning #fawk #rnb #soul #alternative

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Firefly

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We got to see a grown up Willow Smith

This one speaks for itself. Long gone are the days of whipping her hair back and forth for Willow Smith. Ladies and gentlemen, all grown up (aka 16 years old) Willow Smith…

@willowsmith on the @afropunk Red stage right now. . . #AfropunkFestival #afropunk #AFROPUNKLONDON #willowsmith #livemusic

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Mahalia souled us out

18 year old singer-songwriter, Mahalia, has been on a steady incline with her brand of contemporised neo-Soul. Check out a clip of her beautiful performance below and check out more of Mahalia if you’re down with the sounds of the Fugees and Erykah Badu.

Multitalented young singer @Mahalia_music stirring souls at @Afropunk London, July 23. Shot by @aarnlee. #Mahalia #Afropunk #AfropunkLondon #WeThePeople #BlackGirlMagic #LiveMusic #Melanin #vibes #SingerSongwriter

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Afropunk day 2 #afropunk2017 #afropunklondon #afropunk #mahalia #superhuman

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Sate rocked the night

Blues-Rock-Soul fusion singer, Sate, worked her magic and sent quite the waves of electrified energy through the crowd throughout her set. If you needed any reminder that the singer formerly known as Salome Bey is the modern queen of Blues-Rock check the clip below.

Queen Rock Bitch, that was fucking major black girl magic!!!!! @Sate #Sate #AfropunkFestival #London #Music #livemusic

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The absolute beauty that was Lianne La Havas’ headline set

Lianne La Havas headlined the Sunday line-up. With her effortlessly faultless vocals and her acoustic guitar mastery, it was the weekend’s most touchingly beautiful moment.

GREEN x GOLD @liannelahavas. . . #liannelahavas #afropunk #AFROPUNKLONDON #AfropunkFestival #soul #soulmusic #livemusic

A post shared by The Blues Project (@thebluesproject.co) on Jul 23, 2017 at 11:48pm PDT

@liannelahavas stunning at her @afropunk headline set . . #liannelahavas #soul #soulmusic

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