Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars Go Back to their Roots With "Libations"

The unplugged style of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars's "Libations" takes the band back to its roots of playing in refugee camps on whatever instruments they could find. Photo from sierraleonesrefugeeallstars.com.

With the release of their new album, Libation, reggae band Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars celebrate the 10th anniversary of the making of their first album, Living Like a Refugee. Three more albums later, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have literally gone from refugees to all stars.

After being forced from their homes in Freetown to a refugee camp during a 1990s war in the West African country of Sierra Leone, the founding members of Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars formed a band to entertain fellow refugees. For three years, the band performed their rhythmic, uplifting music and the hope it represented to other refugees. Two filmmakers who followed and documented the band up through the recording of their first album, introduced the world to the group's music and the musicians and hardships from which the music was conceived through the documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars.

The band’s perseverance and optimistic, uplifting music quickly captivated audiences and catapulted Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars into international recognition. Today, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars is one of Africa’s top touring and recording bands.

After playing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and creating two more albums that revealed that Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars were not just one-time refugees with a unique story but talented musicians, the group went back to their roots with their fourth album. Featuring an unplugged style that pays homage to the group's days performing in refugee camps, the appropriately titled Libations celebrates the success and opportunities their music has brought them, honors friends they've lost, and remembers the culture, traditions, and rhythms of their country, which continue to inspire their music today. Sit back, relax, and listen to Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Star’s powerful, uplifting, and rhythm-infused music at sierraleonesrefugeeallstars.com.