Wed 7/9 @ 7:30PM
Mauritania is in northwest Africa, just a tad south of Morocco and Algeria, on the edge of the Sahara Desert. And while it’s known for such unsavory things as government coups and human rights violations, it, like many African nations, has a rich cultural and musical heritage.
A star in her native country, Mauritania’s Noura Mint Seymali performs her version of that tradition-infused contemporary hybrid dubbed Afropop. Her sinuous voice with its middle-eastern keen is propelled by a full band that includes her guitarist husband Jeiche Ouls Chighaly (like his wife from Mauritanian griot lineage) who uses electric guitar to translate the sounds of traditional West African stringed instrument the tidinit.
Popular at festivals throughout northern African and the middle east, Noura is just cracking a broader market, releasing her first full-length international album Tzenni last month. Now she and her ensemble are headed to the U.S. to perform for broad-minded, sophisticated audiences at festivals and world music series.
They’ll be in Cleveland as part of the Ohio City Stages series, sponsored by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The show takes place on an outdoor stage next to the Transformer Station. The concert is free.
clevelandart.org/ohio-city-stages-2014