With two guitars, bass, keys, drums, percussion and the mighty Chopteeth Horns, the energy at a Chopteeth show is electric and the dancefloor buzzing. Along with their signature originals, Chopteeth interprets compositions by the likes of Fela Kuti, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Orchestra Baobab, Manu Dibango, Ernesto Djedje, O.J. Ekemode, The Sweet Talks, Alhadji K. Frimpong, Samba Mapangala, Simandou de Beyla, Marijata, Eric Agyeman and many others.
The band’s award-winning 2008 debut album, “Chopteeth,” featured dynamic, original compositions like “Weigh Your Blessings” (featuring Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars), “Upendo” (featuring Anna Mwalagho) and “No Condition is Permanent” (featuring Head-Roc). In 2010, the band released “Chopteeth Live!” with choice selections from Ghana, Senegal, Congo, Guinea, and Nigeria culled from some of the band’s concert recordings. In 2017 Chopteeth returned with a powerful collection of new original songs on their celebrated release “Bone Reader.”
The Washington Area Music Association has selected Chopteeth for a total of fourteen Wammie Awards, including Artist of the Year, Debut CD of the Year, World Music CD (twice) and World Music Group (nine years in a row). Lead singer Michael Shereikis is a three-time winner of Best World Music Vocalist and has been nominated in the overall categories of Producer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Musician of the Year.
Chopteeth has performed with a wide range of critically-acclaimed world music, soul and jazz-funk groups, including Parliament Funkadelic, Trombone Shorty, Galactic, Aaron Neville, Cyril Neville, Derek Trucks Band, Ozomatli, Grupo Fantasma, Konono No. 1, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Gov’t Mule, Soulive, Greyboy Allstars, The Iguanas, War, Chuck Brown and many more. Chopteeth has played at the wrap party for HBO’s “The Wire,” the Congo Square World Music Festival in New Orleans, and at numerous regional colleges and festivals. The band can be seen regularly at top venues in Washington, DC, Baltimore and Virginia, as well as playing at major East Coast festivals including Artscape, The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, The Silver Spring Jazz Festival, Adams Morgan Day Festival and others.
Press Quotes:
“A storming powerhouse of big-band African funk, Chopteeth is smart, tight and relentlessly driving: a definite don’t-miss.”
—The Washington Post
“Afrofunk with lunatic energy.”
—National Public Radio
“A fearsome live act.”
—Washington City Paper
“Thunderous and potent. Chopteeth’s debut CD takes the band from upbeat Swahili lyrics over a South African pulse one second, to spaghetti Western-inspired instrumentals the next. True to the political essence at the heart of Fela’s music.”
—Billboard
”Raging guitars and rich, swaggering horns. Propulsive.”
—The Boston Globe
“Gutsy and in the groove. Chopteeth crafts its own unique brand of songs that gleefully draw on everything from salsa to soukous to Balkan-style time signatures. Socially conscious and raucous…”
—All About Jazz
“Musically adventurous and politically conscious from start to finish. An epic show.”
—Baltimore Magazine
“Wonderfully fresh. With absolutely no reservations, an outright success.”
—Allmusic.com
“A sonic explosion happening onstage, Chopteeth will magnetize you with their exotic offerings. There are no limitations to what the band can do musically.”
—D.C. Music Download
“Chopteeth’s bone-rattling, horn-blasted Afropop with touches of hip-hop may be closer in spirit to Lagos than D.C., but as the band whips through Fela Kuti-inspired grooves on such tracks as Fogo Fogo and Weigh Your Blessings, its place of origin becomes less important, as you’ll be too busy dancing. Word has it that Chopteeth’s live shows are as sweaty yet tasty as a Texas barbecue in August.”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“A tight ensemble with locked-up drums and percussion, a storming horn section, relentlessly riffing guitar, bass and keyboards, and vocals that tell it like it is. It’s a fresh sound that will thrill lovers of classic Afrobeat and open up some new ears as well.”
—World Music Central
“Expert purveyors of ‘70s American funk blended with roiling Yoruba rhythms. Alongside its battery of horns blaring over streams of percussive rhythms, its musical reach also includes Ghanaian highlife, South African Soweto swing, and vocal harmonies to create an effective batch of pan-African dance grooves. This group can keep the groove flowing and going all year long.”
—The Virginian-Pilot
“Infectious jazz grooves and a high degree of funkability. Chopteeth is a gritty, dance-infused, Afrofunk ensemble that is sure to get everyone’s feet moving for hours…and hours…and hours!”
—Inside World Music
“A musical extravaganza of West African music, American Funk and Afrobeat—an eclectic and upbeat mix.”
—DCist
Location: The Patterson
Location: The Patterson
Location: The Patterson
Location: The Patterson
