EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS CONCERT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

King Sunny Adé likes to say that he’s a “peacemaker.”

And that’s true, in many ways. In his lyrics and in his everyday speech, the venerated Nigerian juju artist has always emphasized a positive, non-violent approach to social problems and political oppression — even when dealing with the military dictatorships that have ruled Nigeria in the past.

Even the music itself conveys this positive vibe: Juju songs are written and performed in major keys, which are sunnier and brighter than the darker minor keys.

The juju style is an infectious, undulating mix of interlocking guitars, talking drums, Hawaiian lap-steel, keyboards and a rich vocal blend, and Adé has been a master of the form since the late 1960s. At various points in his career, Adé has been known to hit the stage with groups that consisted of 30 musicians, singers and dancers.

These days, not many artists can afford to tour with such a large ensemble, so when Adé and His African Beats perform at The Ark on Wednesday, April 14, the group will consist of “only” 18 members.

And the music often takes off on soaring, extended improvisational flights, prompting some critics to anoint Adé and his band as “the ultimate jam band.” And some have described crowds at Adé’s concerts being “taken to a place of ecstasy.”

King Sunny Adé and his African Beats performing live in Seattle last summer:

“Behind all my music is a message of peace,” says Adé in an interview on his media site. “I always want Africans to discuss their own problems and sort it out without fighting. That’s the way I look at it.”

But, while Adé has always exuded positivity, he and his group are currently in mourning: In late March, 2 members of his band were killed in an auto crash. The musicians who died were Gabriel Ayanniyi Adelaja and Omo Olope, according to a report on NaijaNewsAndEvents.com.

But Adé decided to soldier on with the U.S. tour, and he uses his remarkably seductive music to convey themes of unity, joy and tolerance. Often, the messages in his lyrics are inspired by traditional Yoruba poetry, one of Adé’s great loves. And in Africa, “praise singers” like Adé often sing lyrics that interweave family history, proverbs and the folklore of the region.

Adé’s music has even played a role in calming his nation during turbulent times. In 1998, when Nigeria was ruled by a brutal military dictator — and was facing a serious political crisis — Adé gathered together many of his fellow musicians from across the country to participate in “The Way Forward” — a music video that delivered the message of “a united Nigeria” at a time when some were calling for the breakup of the nation into factions.

In Nigeria, juju concerts are very audience-interactive. For years, members of the crowd typically rushed onto the stage to make “offerings” to the singer, in keeping with the patronage model that has long been part of the musical tradition in various African countries. Generally, these offerings were good old cash, often pressed against the singer’s forehead. And, if the singer’s songs of praise were particularly poetic, or flattering, or wise, the amount of the offering increased exponentially.

This tradition is known as “spraying” — but it was banned last year by the Nigerian government, when politicians decided that these concert parties had become too ostentatious. That’s become a problem for performers in Nigeria, where artists are more dependent on live performing to make a living.

And that’s because in Nigeria, there’s no real legal system in place to ensure that artists are properly paid for their recordings: Copyright cases have been dragging on in the country’s courts for nearly 10 years, and artists claim that they are still owed billions of nairas (Nigerian dollars) in back payments for their work.

Presently, Adé is in the process of completing his first new album in 10 years. Last year’s summer tour was also his first in several years — he’d previously been devoting himself instead to running various enterprises, including a foundation that sponsors poor schools and a media company that nurtures and develops young Nigerian artists.

Listen to King Sunny Adé "Suku Suku Bam Bam":

Another challenge facing Nigerian artists like Adé is the rampant bootlegging by musical “pirates” — something that's been a problem for a long time in Nigeria. These bootleggers have fine-tuned the process of swiftly burning copies of new releases by the major artists, and then flooding the market with cheap, inferior CD copies that are typically sold on the streets.

The bootleggers have become such a force that they defied the artists to sue them, claiming they had enough money to fight a long court battle. So Adé and other artists actually had a meeting to try to work out an agreement. Nigerian artists even stopped calling the bootleggers “pirates” to their faces — instead choosing the more diplomatic euphemism “special distributors.”

One way that Adé has kept the juju tradition moving forward is by seeking out new, younger performers and producers — like 1 hip-hop producer / bassist, and attractive young dancers from Nigeria’s film industry, which is amusingly known as Nollywood. Adé feels that the new members bring more of a cutting-edge sensibility to the music, and he’s said that he’s revamped his stage show to take advantage of this more youthful energy.

“Nigerian music is the wellspring,” says Adé on his media site. “And my music is for peace, for enjoyment. It’s happy music that brings people together to discuss their problems, not fight over them.”

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.