Wed 4/2 @ 8PM
Tinariwen, whose name roughly means “desert boys,” came together in the late ’70s, a loose group of North Africans from the nomadic Tuareg peoples of Mali.
The unstable political situation in their region found them uprooted, wandering through Morocco, Algeria, and Liberia, living in refugee camps, training in a foreign military, and eventually engaged in rebellion in their native country.
It also found them collecting musical influences as they travelled, attracted new musicians, and caught the ear of supporters outside of Africa, particularly in France. By the late ’90s, the group had coalesced into a going concern and a powerful force who were in demand for festivals like WOMAD and Roskilde.
Since then the group has released albums, toured the world, including Japan and Australia, played to hipsters at Coachella, and earned accolades from people like Bono, Thom Yorke, and Robert Plant. Early members of the group, now in their 50s, have been joined by younger musicians of the tribe, bringing additional influences to bear on this hypnotic, lonely music that sounds both strange with its keening vocals in the Tuareg native tongue and yet somehow familiar with its rock influences and electric guitars.
They’ll be performing at the Kent Stage.
Tickets are $25-$35.
Kent, OH 44240