MISSION FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL
Box 3125, Mission, British Columbia, Canada V2V 4J3
(604) 826-5937 / mfmfs@look.ca
www.missionfolkmusicfestival.ca
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King Sunny Ade Cancels Tour Due to Global Visa Problems
Nigerian Afropop juju master King Sunny Ade
A major figure in African pop music has had to cancel all shows in North America, including the
Mission Folk Music Festival, because of visa problems brought on by a U.S. State Department
computer problem.
The New York Times reported that the U.S. State Department blamed "a global computer
hardware failure" that has held up visa processing around the world for the last two weeks.
King Sunny Ade, the acknowledged king of Nigerian juju music, usually performs with as many
as 30 people on stage including singers, musicians, dancers and drummers whose talking drums
provided his music with its uniquely percolating drive.
“I can’t tell you how deeply disappointed I am that King Sunny Ade has been forced to cancel
his entire tour” explains festival director Francis Xavier Edwards. “Visa problems for artists to
perform in the USA are nightmarish, it is sad it has come to this. The show promised to be
spectacular.”
The recent problems the U.S. has had processing visas has had worldwide repercussions that are
quite serious and is having a direct impact on the festival in Mission with this cancellation.
An additional artist will be added to the festival roster. As usual, something unusual and
extraordinarily good can be expected in the cultural spectacle that is the Mission Folk Music
Festival.
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