Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars Waltons World Masters Wednesday 23rd January 2013, 8pm Room: Main Auditorium Tickets : €34, €30, €24, €16 (Choir Balcony) 10% discount for Friends of The National Concert Hall. 10% discount for groups of 10 or more ‘It’s a story made all the more remarkable by the strength of their songs.’ – The Guardian ‘[A] fabulous, gifted band: down to earth, full of life and absolutely going in the right direction.’ – Songlines ‘The mind struggles to grasp the idea that tragedy and even horrific brutality can somehow give birth to life-affirming, uplifting music. But there is no better proof of that bittersweet truth than the joyful sounds of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars.’– Montreal Gazette Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have risen like a phoenix out of the ashes of war and won the hearts of legions of fans around the world with their uplifting songs of hope, faith and joy.

The group is a potent example of the redeeming power of music and the ability of the human spirit to persevere through unimaginable hardship and emerge with optimism intact. Forced to flee the country during its brutal civil war, the band formed in refugee camps across the border in Guinea.

Having entertained their fellow residents for several years, they were brought to the attention of the wider world through the acclaimed 2006 documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. But the group doesn’t have to rely on a humbling back-story to get people’s attention. Their impossibly upbeat sound, drawing on highlife and reggae, is simply irresistible, a life-affirming riposte to life under the gun and the grenade. From their humble beginnings, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have recorded three great albums, performed on some of the world’s most prestigious concert stages and matured into one of Africa’s top touring and recording groups. Presented by Waltons New School of Music Supported by RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday Independent, Conrad Dublin Hotel