Mr. Mwenso, a Sierra Leonean vocalist, comes from the jazz world, but his messages arrive in the form of a growl, not a croon, and his band, the Shakes, is a thrashing hybrid whose concerts often take the form of a prewar revue. If a tap dancer arrives to blow your mind midsong, don’t say you weren’t warned.”— New York Times

“It’s my own personal vibe,” Mwenso says. “It’s theatrical, with a costume component, which comes from my upbringing of being a young performer in musicals. We present folk music with African American music. There’s a spiritual message and it’s empowering.’’

For this tour, the band features 10 musicians from South Africa, Europe, Hawaii, and Jamaica. Their latest show is called ‘‘Protest Songs From Africa to America.’’ The show features African folk songs, South African music from the Apartheid era,  African American church songs, along with new protest songs from the band.