The official government sanctioned live concert by Rocky Dawuni will come off on Tuesday March 6 as part of the 50th Indepenedence Anniversary celebration.

The concert which is the 7th annual "Rocky Dawuni's Independence Splash" is being presented by Africa Live in association with UNICEF at the La Pleasure Beach in Accra.

Performing live alongside Ghana's international super star Rocky Dawuni would be the 2006 MOBO Award winner Batman Samini, griot sensation King Ayisoba and very special guests.

This year's Independence Splash would also be hosted by the first Miss Ghana UK (93') Makeba L. Boateng with legendary deejay Black Santino.

Ghana was the first black African country to gain independence from colonial rule in 1957 under the guidance of Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

To commemorate this year's anniversary which marks Ghana@50, Rocky Dawuni founded the Independence Splash concert in 2001 to celebrate his homeland. Since its inception, Independence Splash attracted thousands annually and has been broadcast to millions. This year's celebration will be a convergence of many Ghanaians and Africans from home and abroad as well as heads of state from around the world.

Rocky Dawuni, is one of West Africa's most popular musicians whose live performances have often been called legendary and whose popularity spans the globe. He is currently blazing new paths with his CD "Book of Changes," a progressive fusion of Reggae, Afro Beat, traditional African sounds, and Hip Hop neo-griotism which has been dubbed "infectious" and "a classic" by tastemakers. Rocky was invited to be the musical personality for the 2005 Reebok Humanitarian Awards where he was joined in song by Peter Gabriel and he also shared the mic with Stevie Wonder at a sold-out concert appearance athis Los Angeles club, Afro Funke'.

Rocky continues to raise his international profile with a recent distinctive appearance on Showtime's smash hit series "Weeds" performing "Jammin Nation" in episode 2 of the Emmy winning show's 2nd season. "Jammin Nation" was featured in another Showtime soon to be classic "Dexter." No stranger to TV, two tracks from "Book of Changes" set the tone as NBC's "ER" traveled to Africa and the show also highlighted Rocky's rendition of "Knockin on Heaven's Door" to massive response. Rocky was recently invited to be the musical guest for an event honoring Jeffrey Sachs, renowned poverty expert and head of the UN Millennium Project. The event was hosted by Quincy Jones and Roger Waters.

Africa Live!, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, restore, and reinvigorate the Ghanaian music scene, creating public and industry awareness for its rich history and value, and commercial opportunities for artists and the community. Native son and musician Rocky Dawuni recognized the need to safeguard Ghana's incredible music legacy. Through Africa Live! Dawuni plans to promote music education and appreciation in schools, provide artists with access to instruments, venues and professional production assistance, and further appreciation and demand for traditional West African music throughout the world.

Africa Live! and UNICEF have joined forces to promote UNICEF'S theme of "Water & Sanitation" for the 2007 incarnation of Independence Splash. Poor sanitation and hygiene practices and drinking unsafe water claim children's lives needlessly, and affect the health and economic welfare of families and entire communities. As Ghana celebrates its 50th anniversary and focuses on the drive for "A Clean Ghana", this is an important time for all citizens to focus on ensuring that they drink clean and safe water.

Public Agenda