Tinariwen U.S. Tour 2006

"Modernity encroaching on the centuries old nomadic way of life of the Saharan desert finds musical expression in the work of the group Tinariwen"
 

   
Tinariwen has just come out of the Bogolon Studios in Bamako, where they finished a new album. Yet to be named, it is currently being mixed by producer Justin Adams and should be ready for a September release in Europe.  Fans in the U.S. will have a chance to hear the new material in April when the group embarks on a nationwide tour.

The Tuareg artists have visited the U.S. in the past; Africasounds caught their performance last summer at the Hudson River Festival music series and was struck by the audience response. The scene was astonishingly lush, the sun setting over the Hudson River and the World Financial Center as people of all ages and presumably a wide range of musical tastes danced as if at a Saharan wedding, while Tinariwen, wearing the flowing robes of the North African desert, played swaying with arms raised and hands clapping in a slow hypnotic rhythm which built in intensity as the show progressed.

Tinariwen returns in April for a month long tour that kicks off at Symphony Space in New York on April 7th. They undoubtedly will call attention to the precarious existence of their people.  Drought has threatened lives there as recently as this past year.

 
   

   
Bonding not as musicians but as freedom fighters in a military training camp during the Tuareg Rebellion, and meeting again several years later fighting in Mali the group has come along way in many senses.  At home their music is revolutionary for introducing the guitar to the traditional hand claps, percussion instruments and vocals of Tuareg music. 

Here it was the those simple expressions marking time that captivated, and hinted at a life of slow steady movement in big open spaces in which carrying instruments would be unthinkably burdensome. The repetitive rhythms built a tension that could only be released, for many in the audience, in ecstatic dancing in front of the stage.  Manager Andy Morgan hopes the new recording will be released in the U.S. early next year.

  
   

   

2006 Tour Dates & Venues:


4/07/2006 - New York, NY

                     Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th St. - Tix: $26.00, Show: 8 pm


4/08/2006 - Minneapolis, MN

                     Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave. South - Tix: $26.00, Show: 8 pm


4/09/2006 - Houghton, MI

                     Michigan Tech/Rozsa Center, 1400 Townsend Dr. - Tix: $15.00 - 10.00, Show: 2 pm and 10pm


4/11/2006 - Chicago, IL

                     Martyr's, 3855 N. Lincoln Ave. Tix: $15.00, Show: 8 pm


4/13/2006 - Austin, TX

                     Hogg Auditorium/Univ. of Texas at Austin, San Antonio and West 25th - Tix: $26.00 - 38.00, Show: 8 pm


4/14/2006 - La Jolla, CA

                     Price Center Ballroom UCSD, 9500 Gilman Dr. - Show: 8 pm

                     Located in the center of campus, just south of Geisel Library.

4/15/2006 - Chico, CA

                     Laxson Auditorium/Cal State Chico, 400 W. First St. - Tix: $14.00 - 23.00, Show: 7:30 pm

4/18/2006 - Santa Cruz, CA

                     Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. Tix: $14.00 - 28.00, Show: 8 pm - UCSC Ticket Office, (831) 459-2159

4/19/2006 - Oakland, CA

                     Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West - Show: 8pm and 10pm

4/20/2006 - Ashland, OR

                     Historic Ashland Armory, 208 Oak St. Tix: $15.00 - 30.00, Show: 8 pm
 

4/28/2006 - Lafayette, LA

                     International Festival of Louisiana, Downtown Lafayette - Tix: $free,

4/29/2006 - Lafayette, LA

                     International Festival of Louisiana, Downtown Lafayette - Tix: $free,

4/30/2006 - Houston, TX

                     Houston International Festival
 


For more tour info please visit Tinariwen's tour promoters in the U.S.:   www.rockpaperscissors.biz/go/tinariwen