ORGANISERS of this year's Black History Month have scored a real coup with a performance by Zimbabwean Afrofunk legend Anna Mudeka.

Promoted by Arts La’Olam, and supported by Creative Arts East and Arts Alive, Anna Mudeka will be playing with her six-piece band at the Old Hall Community in East Bergholt.

Celebrating their recently released album: ’Dendende', Anna is just doing five concerts in the UK, alongside a BBC World Service interview and an informal lecture.

Since The Anna Mudeka Band toured with their previous album Zvachose, the band has been busy performing worldwide including Latitude Festival, Roundhouse London, Passing Clouds and WOMAD in Singapore.

Her concerts are vibrant events promising Zimbabwean Mbira-driven rhythms, conga beat and six-string bass, packed with melodies and uplifting songs in Swahili, Hindi and Shona.

Daisy Less, who runs Arts La'Olam, says: "We are very happy that Anna's appearance will be included not only in the Colchester Black History Month programme but also the Suffolk African History Month programme too, contributing to Afrocentric events in rural locations for the international festival of education and entertainment."

As well as Anna, Black History Month also includes a family fun day at Firstsite run by town-based African Families in the UK tomorrow from 12pm.

Running until 4pm, there will be live music from singer Chichi Armstrong, who has performed all over the world, as well as drumming, music workshops and crafts sessions from Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Other events include the Arise and Shine women’s conference at the Quaker Meeting House, Church Street, from 10am on October 6, with speakers including Elizabeth Alake, Rizwana Siddiqui and Sangita Mitra, and kids theatre with a play and a workshop about Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.

That takes place at the Headgate Theatre on October 15.

Anna Mudeka plays Old Hall on October 8 at 7.30pm. Tickets on the door are £10 and £5 for under 16s.

For the full list of events, visit www.bhmcolchester.co.uk