EventWinter of Culture

Samaki — Live Afrobeat at The Printworks

12 Dec 2026The Printworks Hastings

Samaki flyer: Live Afrobeat at The Printworks, Hastings, Saturday 12 December, doors 7:30pm, £15

Hastings' own afrobeat collective brings 1970s Lagos grooves, a blazing horn section and a full rhythm section to The Printworks.

SAMAKI — LIVE AFROBEAT
Live at The Printworks, Hastings
Saturday 12th December | Doors 7:30pm

As part of the Hidden Beach Winter of Culture, The Printworks welcomes Samaki, the Hastings band keeping the spirit of classic afrobeat alive.

Samaki draws on the sound of the 1970s African greats such as Fela Kuti, Tony Allen and Oscar Sulley: long, hypnotic grooves, interlocking guitar and percussion, and big soaring horn lines. The band is led by saxophonist Christopher White, who spent years as Van Morrison's saxophonist and musical director and has played with Paul McCartney, Gregory Porter, Mavis Staples and Maceo Parker. White formed the group in Hastings and named it after the Swahili word for fish.

Between them, Samaki's musicians have recorded and toured with artists including Van Morrison, Noel Gallagher, Ray Charles, Sade, James Brown and Gilberto Gil. Put them on one stage and you get a three-piece horn section driven by a rock-solid rhythm section. Their 2020 album Afronaut shows what they can do on record. Live, it's a dancefloor.

Expect