As a student at Towson University a decade ago, Michael “Legendary Mike” Awosanya developed a talent for putting on events.
He started with DJ battles and dance competitions, he said, and it grew from there.
“We brought Burna Boy out in 2018, ran Heatwave DC with Asake in 2022, and finally launched Afro Plus Fest in 2025,” Awosanya said in an email.
The first Afro Plus Fest took place at the RFK Stadium site last year in D.C., attracting more than 20,000 ticket holders for a single day of music. This year, Afro Plus Fest moves to Prince George’s County, where Awosanya grew up, and expands to three days of music. Projected attendance is roughly 120,000.
The event this weekend at Northwest Stadium in Landover is the largest culmination yet of Awosanya’s effort to provide local platforms for the increasingly popular Afrobeats genre.
“At Towson, I studied accounting, and I cofounded the Change Foundation alongside the DMV’s African Student Association network,” said Awosanya, the 29-year-old founder and executive producer of the festival. “That’s where college parties turned into actual productions. The same core team I met at Towson back in 2014 is building this with me today.”
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Modern African music, particularly the danceable and melodic Afrobeats genre, has made major strides in America over the past decade. Afro Plus headliners Tems, Wizkid, Davido and Ayra Starr, all of whom are Nigerian, are some of the prime drivers of the explosion of stateside interest in Afrobeats.
Billboard began publishing an Afrobeats Songs chart in 2022, but the sound has crossed over to the pop charts as well. Wizkid and Tems have each appeared on multiple Top 10 hits on the Hot 100. Their song “Essence” was remixed with Justin Bieber in 2021, while Drake and Wizkid’s 2016 collaboration, “One Dance,” and Future’s 2022 song, “Wait For U,” featuring Tems and Drake, both topped the chart. Afro Plus Fest’s bill also boasts major American hip-hop stars — the fest’s “plus” — such as Lil Baby, Latto and Chief Keef.
“We’ve seen fans move away from isolated genres — they no longer want Afrobeats, dancehall or hip-hop confined to separate boxes,” Awosanya said.
The festival is also projected to be a significant economic boon for the county.
County Executive Aisha Braveboy said in an emailed statement that she views the festival as a vehicle for introducing new visitors to the county and as “an opportunity to deepen Prince George’s County’s connection to the global African and Caribbean diaspora.”
Awosanya estimated that Afro Plus Fest’s local impact will be measured in tens of millions of dollars this year. “It’s like a microeconomic stimulus package for Prince George’s,” said Corina Delgado, a local radio personality on 94.7 The Drive and Mix 106.5 Baltimore.
D.C., Maryland and Virginia’s thriving hotbed of Black culture and musical talent has gained more national prominence in recent years, thanks in part to the proliferation of major festivals. For the Brooklyn-born and Prince George’s-raised Awosanya, who has Nigerian heritage, Afro Plus Fest reflects his personal roots and his drive to share his love of music
He’s already turning an eye to a 2027 event.
“We will build bigger and better every year. Our immediate next move is to keep expanding our footprint and momentum in the DMV — this is home,” he said.
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