Asake made history at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, becoming the first African artist to headline the U.S. edition of Red Bull Symphonic.
The sold-out show turned his catalog into a full orchestral experience under conductor Glenn Alexander II and maestro Anthony Parnther, backed by a 33-piece orchestra. Songs like “Lonely at the Top,” “Peace Be Unto You,” and “Sungba” got reimagined here, and the arrangements pulled Afrobeats, Fuji, and Amapiano into the same frame as sweeping orchestral strings. That’s not a small trick to pull off. Street-pop rhythms don’t always survive the jump to classical instrumentation without losing what made them work in the first place, but this performance kept the grit intact underneath the polish.
The night opened with “Dull,” the violin-led intro from his debut album, before Asake walked out in a gray three-piece suit for “Why Love.” From there the set moved through a run of hits – “Sunmomi,” “Organize,” “Joha” – the same songs that carried his rise back in 2023, now sitting inside a completely different sonic frame. For “Joha” specifically, a trio of drummers and dancers built an energetic break that mixed Nigerian street dance with salsa-inspired choreography, so the orchestral setting never fully softened the performance’s physical energy.
Wizkid and Gunna showed up as surprise guests, adding weight to an already historic bill. Asake also teased a new track off his upcoming album “Mr Money.”
Visually, the show leaned into its dual-city concept – an LED screen ran parallel footage of Lagos and New York, bikers and breakdancers moving in sync across both cities. It read as a deliberate nod to Asake’s own path: a son of Lagos who built enough momentum to headline one of Brooklyn’s most historic venues, dressed simply, letting the music do most of the talking.
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