Net profit means a lot to a weekend show at Newcastle's Cluny

ON SATURDAY, London Afro Funk combo Hot Border Special will be making their North-East debut at Newcastle's Cluny on a bill featuring the Crossings Band and Palestinian rapper Shahid NWA when profits will buy trainers and tracksuits for the Ramallah Eagles, a newly-formed basketball team in the West Bank of Palestine.

The team is supported by the Newcastle Eagles who have donated shirts to the group sporting the Eagles logo.

The audience can expect a blisteringly energetic and danceable trip with the Hot Border Special who have just released an LP displaying influences ranging from afrobeat to rock, highlife to funk, and even a hint towards samba. The musicianship is tight – raw, rootsy and percussion heavy rhythms underpin lush interwoven guitar melodies – and so rich in fact that you hardly notice the absence of a vocalist.

Hot Border Special feature musicians from The Noisettes, Quantic, Heliocentrics, JetTricks and more.

The Crossings Band specialise in dance floor filling world beat combining sounds from Africa to the Balkans. The group grew out of the Crossings project which features newly-arrived and refugee artists performing with local musicians.

Palestinian rapper Shahid NWA grew up in Palestinian refugee camps in the Lebanon. He raps in Arabic and is a powerful artist who mixes old school and contemporary styles combined with a strong social and political message.

The Ramallah Eagles are based in the Al Am’mari Refugee Camp in the West Bank. The team is made up of ten to 12-year-old boys. The cash-strapped young players dream of playing in leagues and one day creating a national team. The fundraiser is being promoted by Labour Friends of Palestine to support their development.

  • Tickets are £10. Cluny Box Office: 0191-2304474