When Mona Golub first heard Rocky Dawuni, she knew he was special.
Golub, the founder of the Music Haven concert series and a vice president at Price Chopper and Market 32 supermarkets, remembered running into Dawuni, a three-time Grammy-nominated Afro Roots musician, at an international music conference in 2017.
“When he stepped onto the stage and smiled and began to speak, he just absolutely filled the room with this wonderful energy,” Golub said. “I fell in love with his music and knew that at some point in time I would bring Rocky Dawuni here.”
Six years later, Golub’s vision has come to fruition: Dawuni will kick off the 33rd season of Music Haven on July 9. The yearly summer concert series brings internationally acclaimed artists to Schenectady’s Central Park for free performances on Sunday nights.
Dawuni, who is originally from Ghana and now lives in Los Angeles, said it will be his first time performing in the Capital Region. He said he wants to create hope and community during his upcoming concert.
“The beauty of music is that it communicates not only through the words, but also communicates through the groove. People are going to be dancing and singing along and also getting inspired,” Dawuni said. “The world is becoming more divided every day, you know, and the headlines don’t bring any element of hope. This is a music of hope, a music of community.”
As an Afro Roots musician, Dawuni said he draws on global musical influences, ranging from Ghanaian highlife to Reggae to American pop. His cross-cultural music has earned Grammy nominations in three categories: Best Reggae Album, Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance
“I nurtured a sound that was inspired by African music but at the same time tried to use music as a means to communicate the important messages of Reggae music, but then also (had) the same pop…
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