Asake Redefines Afrobeats With Orchestral Brilliance At Red Bull Symphonic

On November 8, 2025, Afrobeats sensation Asake took the stage at the iconic Kings Theatre in Brooklyn for a one-night only performance with a full symphonic orchestra as part of the Red Bull Symphonic series. With conductor Glenn Alexander II at the helm and orchestral arrangements by Anthony Parnther, the show marked the first U.S. edition of the series to feature an African artist in the headlining role.

Asake, whose music blends Afrobeats, fuji, street-pop and amapiano, re-imagined hits like “Lonely at the Top” and “Terminator” alongside a 33-piece orchestra. The evening also featured a surprise appearance by fellow Afrobeats star Wizkid during their joint performance of “MMS,” which ignited the venue and social media alike.

This performance transcended the standard concert format, it represented a significant cultural moment, showing that African contemporary music is ready to inhabit the grand, classical spaces historically reserved for Western pop or orchestral performances.

For Asake, this came on the back of a rapid rise: he has previously sold out major arenas, achieved multiple chart-topping albums and is recognized among the leading voices of his generation of Afrobeats artists. By bridging his Lagos-rooted sound with orchestral sophistication, he invited fans and the broader music world to hear Afrobeats in a new dimension—grand, cinematic and globally minded.

What does this mean for the future? It suggests that live performance formats are evolving: genre boundaries are dissolving, classical instrumentation is becoming a playground for popular music, and African artists are increasingly commanding those spaces. For fans and music-industry watchers alike, Asake’s Brooklyn night will likely be cited as a milestone in how Afrobeats is presented and perceived on the world stage.