Celebrating Black History Month: A glimpse into our past...

Throughout its history, Brighton Dome has played host to some of the world’s finest black and Asian artists, across artforms, from Jimi Hendrix in 1967 to Anoushka Shankar in 2003.

Among the legends who have graced the stage at Brighton Dome are early jazz pioneers, the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, which played at Brighton Dome in 1921, many of whom tragically died that year in a shipping accident between Glasgow and Derry.

World famous singer, actor and activist, Paul Robeson performed as part of the grand re-opening of ‘the Dome’ (as it was called then) on 11 January 1936, following the transformation of the Concert Hall into the venue that we know today. 

In 1964, artists including Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe performed at Brighton Dome as the American Folk Blues and Gospel Caravan rolled into town. Ella Fitzgerald made several appearances, including a performance with Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1967, while Miriam Makeba celebrated her 70th birthday with a show at Brighton Dome in 2002. More recently, pop and R&B icon Beyoncé stormed the stage as part of the Radio One Chart Show Live at Brighton Dome in 2006.

Some other famous names who have performed at Brighton Dome:

Nina Simone, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Supremes, Lee Perry, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Rokia Traore, Jimmy Cliff, Max Romeo, Sly and Robbie, Nitin Sawhney, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Oumou Sangare, Omara Portuondo, Orchestra Baobab, Orchestra Poly-Rythmo, Hugh Masekela, Wynton Marsalis, Buena Vista Social Club, Baaba Maal, Wayne Shorter, Asian Dub Foundation, Akram Khan, Suzanne Baca, Ernest Ranglin, Randy Crawford, Reginald D Hunter, Lenny Henry, Beverley Knight, Dionne Warwick, Rose Royce, Odyssey, The Real Thing, Seu Jorge, Joan Armatrading, Carlos Acosta, Toots and the Maytals