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Beyonce, Jay-Z and Snoop Play Nigeria

Nigeria broke free of British rule in 1960, but it's taken until 2006 to organize a huge music festival celebrating the nation's independence. This year will be the first of hopefully many for the Thisday Music Festival, and organizers made up for lost time by putting together a star-studded lineup, headlined by Beyonce, and also including Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Ciara, Mary J. Blige and En Vogue. Can you say, "Holy crap"? How much are plane tickets to Nigeria?

"It's a great thrill to come to West Africa for the first time to celebrate Nigeria's independence," Beyonce said in a statement issued to the press. "I feel blessed for this opportunity for my all-female band and me to appear on stage with some of the world's most talented artists and share the universal message of peace, hope and beauty that music brings to all of us."

The Americans will be joined by Nigerian favorites such as reggae star Majek Fashek, King Sunny Ade, Dare Art Alade and Seun Anikulapo-Kuti, son of legendary Nigerian performer Fela Kuti.

"We feel that Nigerian fans love music the same way fans all over the world do," said Ola Joshua, Thisday's Head of Entertainment. "What better way to celebrate the development and progress of our nation than to celebrate with the best musicians the world has to offer."

The festival will be held in Lagos, the capital city, on October 7th and 8th. Fans unable to shell out the admission price will be able to gather in "Fan Zones" across Nigeria, where they can watch the show on big screens for a low cost.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
09.28.06