Lekan Babalola Trio

To close The Migrant Festival 2022, Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham (CSB) present a performance by some of Birmingham’s finest musicians.  With roots in Nigeria, the music has been chosen to complement Ikon’s exhibition by Nigerian artist Abdulrazaq Awofeso.  

This concert is preceded by ten quick-fire soapbox presentations chaired by Salman Mirza, Birmingham Network Worker for Migrant Voice.

This event is part of The Migrant Festival 2022 and Ikon’s Arrivals programme for Summer 2022, concerned with the international movement of people and ideas and organised to coincide with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

About the artists

Twice Grammy award winning Nigerian percussionist, Lekan Babalola is a custodian of the Yoruba tradition. He studied filmmaking at Central St Martins College of Art and Design, London, continuing his studies at Northern School of Film & Television, Leeds. Babalola is founder and Artistic Director of Ifa-Yoruba Contemporary Arts Trust, a UK based charity committed to fostering the development of Yoruba arts and culture. 

Clarinettist Kate Luxmoore, trained at The Royal Northern College of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has performed at festivals and venues worldwide with pianist Ian Buckle and artists such as Fairport Convention, Jackie McShee, Vayu Naidu, The Shysters, Open Theatre Company, Talking Birds, Lucky Ranku, Pritam Singh and Salamander Tandem Dance Company, as well as recordings for BBC Radio 3 and 4 with composer John Nicholls. 

Thomas Seminar Ford is a guitarist from Birmingham. After playing with local bands through his youth he moved to the US to study at Berklee College of Music. Upon returning he has been an active member in the UK jazz scene, playing regularly alongside some great musicians, as well as doing session work. Currently he works with the Jonathan Silk Big Band and new soul/jazz/fusion outfit Trope.