K.O.G & FRIENDS
A night of Afrobeats, jazz, hiphop and global sounds.

+ support from Vélez.

I view MUSIC as a major WEAPON in the BATTLEFIELD for PEACE of MIND in the world” K.O.G

“Ghana’s finest” – Jools Holland, Later with Jools Holland, BBC2, March 2021.

Kweku Sackey aka K.O.G (Kweku of Ghana) is a multi-dimensional creative force, combining exquisite writing skills with shamanistic live performance, fierce raps, perfectly on pitch singing across a massive vocal range and some absolutely wicked dance moves. Not to mention his skills as a percussionist, arranger, bandleader and art director. A true poet and storyteller, he uses a mix of English, Pidgin and Ga to paint sonic pictures that reach deep into the souls of everyone ready to listen.

K.O.G will be joined by special guests on the night too – ELLEN ABDI and Durbrain.

I love to make music that CONNECTS, REVIVES , EDUCATES and ENTERTAINS, drawing on the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental well being of us as individuals and our quest to maintain balance with the universe.”

Born in Accra, Ghana, to a nurse mother and marine engineer father who had studied in England, he grew up with a diverse range of international influences alongside Ghanaian styles: Tom Waits, Quincy Jones, Bob Marley, Sizzla, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ebo Taylor, Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Atongo Simba, George Clinton, Pavarotti, Warsaw Village Band.

Resident for over 10 years in Sheffield, UK, music has taken him to perform on huge stages all over the world, from Glastonbury’s legendary West Holts stage to Fusion (Germany), Sauti Za Busara (Zanzibar), Kabardock (Reunion) and the Commonwealth Games (Gold Cost, Australia), winning the 2018 Young Commonwealth Performer and performing for Nelson Mandela’s family.

ELLEN ABDI

Ellen Beth Abdi crafts wonky, soul-infused pop with live loops, pokey drums and quietly subversive lyrics. A rising force in Manchester’s scene, she’s supported The Stone Roses, performed with 808 State, New Order and A Certain Ratio, and shared stages with Olivia Dean, Hollie Cook and Angélique Kidjo. Her debut album dropped in May 2025 via her own label, Sweet Twenty-Three Records.