Student Group SAfro FAmily

Experience the warmth of music, a unique experience for students

SAfro FAmily is an intercollegiate gospel club at Sophia University, now in its 27th year, that sings primarily black contemporary gospel. Gospel is a Christian form of music that originated in America, and SAfro FAmily sings contemporary gospel with a pop feel. Currently, the club practices three times a week and performs live shows. After each show, they have a two-month break, and their well-balanced activities embody the club's philosophy of "working when it's time to work, having fun when it's time to have fun."

Representative Ogaki herself has experience performing on big stages in the past, such as singing backup vocals at Little Glee Monster and AI concerts. "These experiences help me maintain my motivation, and it gives me the goal of 'I want to see a scene like this one day,'" she says.
He also says that the experience of receiving thunderous applause from professional artists has given him great confidence in his own work.

A solo concert is planned for the winter of 2025.
There are three main attractions to this live performance.
The first is a system that makes it easy for the audience to speak up. It breaks the Japanese culture of listening in silence, and the whole venue can get excited as the chorus encourages them.
The second is a live band performance, which the band members say is a huge impact that is different from the recorded version, and they are always impressed.
And thirdly, they want people to pay attention to the thoughts behind the concept of their winter live, "Bouquet." Just like a gathering of various flowers, the unique members join forces to deliver the best gift, a concept that expresses the essence of the circle.
Okaki, a third-year student, will be retiring after this live performance. The executives decided on this title because they wanted to express their gratitude to those around them.

Their future vision is to increase the number of members in the club. As the number of members increases, the range of activities they can do also increases, so they would like to increase the number of members to their target number. They hope that many people will learn about the charm of the Safro Family and that their juniors will continue to have such wonderful experiences.

I hope you enjoy this live performance to the fullest, which is filled with the thoughts and feelings of the band members who have had various experiences.

■Live Information

Interview with Risa Ukita, a second-year student at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, published on December 4, 2025 by Student Newspaper Online