Afropop Spectacular

with Alsarah and the Nubatones
and Natu Camara

Cal Performances 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800, Berkeley, CA 94720 Friday, November 8 @ 8:00pm Special GSOC Price: $10 each (you may bring one guest)

An inspired double bill of Nubian electro-pop and electrified desert blues from Mali. Singer and guitarist Sidi Touré updates the hypnotic Malian guitar music first popularized by Ali Farka Touré through the sounds of his new electric band—exhilarating trance music that overflows with joy, carried by the beauty of Touré's singular voice. Born in Sudan and based in Brooklyn, vocalist Alsarah weaves classic East African pop sounds with subtle electronics, Middle Eastern oud, driving percussion, and lilting vocal harmonies in her enchanting music.

"A sound that flows like silt through your fingers one minute and starts a fire beneath your feet the next…. Alsarah has the makings of an Afropop queen" (PopMatters).

And singer, songwriter, and guitarist Natu Camara has been heralded as "the Tina Turner of Guinea" and in the 1990s led The Ideal Black Girls, West Africa's first all-female hip-hop group. (Please note: due to difficulties in obtaining a US visa, Sidi Touré has cancelled his US tour and will not appear as part of this concert.)

“Sheer euphoria radiates...it's utterly, gloriously head spinning.”

—The New York Times