02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
The Shrine is corrugated iron walls, a concrete floor, a low stage, a Fela altar at the back with offerings and photographs. The horns line up six abreast, the dancers come out in body paint and beadwork, and Femi Kuti runs sets that build for 25 minutes without stopping. The smoke is thick: weed, grilled fish from the open kitchen, the heat of 2,000 bodies in a tropical night. You leave hoarse and slightly deaf, which is the right way to leave.
Sunday Jump (Femi) is the cleaner introduction. Take an agreed-fare taxi from Ikeja GRA, not a street hail.
The single most culturally weighted intimate music venue on the continent. Non-negotiable for any West African chapter.
Sunday Jump nights are the headline, when Femi Kuti and the Positive Force play 4-hour sets. The Felabration festival each October (around Fela's birthday) is the must-go week. The Shrine runs late, music doesn't start until 22:00.
Open Thursday through Sunday from 19:00. Sunday Jump from 22:00 to 04:00. Felabration in October is the annual headline week.
Lagos has no metro that reaches Ikeja directly. Taxi or rideshare from Victoria Island (45 minutes in traffic) or Lekki (1 hour). The Shrine is on Pepple Street, NERDC Road, off Agidingbi, Ikeja. Use Google Maps with the full address.