Nomad Blues Act Etran Finatawa Returns to United States for September and October 2008 Dates

Nigerien sensation Etran Finatawa returns to the US for the third time this year. Etran Finatawa. They are six Tuareg and Wodaabe musicians now based in Niamey, Niger. Etran Finatawa, whose name literally translates as “the stars of tradition,” began as a group of ten musicians who wanted to unite these two nomadic cultures as a symbol of peace and reconciliation, forming around the time of the 2004 Festival in the Desert near Timbuktu.

The touring and recording band consists of six players, three Tuareg and three Wodaabe. In Niger, the Wodaabe and the Tuareg live side by side on the desert’s fringes, sharing pastures and water sources, which sometimes leads to feuding. Here they work together for unity and strength and to give their culture a future in an ever-changing world. The music of the two tribes is very different but the way it has been combined produces a powerful and hypnotic sound, one which could be called “Nomad Blues.”

Concert dates:

• 9/20 Madison Madison World Music Festival
• 9/21 Chicago Chicago World Music Festival
• 9/22 Chicago Chicago World Music Festival
• 9/23 Los Angeles Amoeba Music (in-store)
• 9/25 Los Angeles Japan American Community Cultural Center
• 10/3 Bloomington Lotus Festival
• 10/4 Bloomington Lotus Festival
• 10/6 World Café
• 10/7 Philadelphia Crossroads Music (Calvary Church)
• 10/8 Boston Museum of Fine Arts
• 10/11 Pittsburgh Carnegie Mellon University

Buy the CDs:

• In North America  Desert Crossroads and Introducing etran finatawa
• In Europe: Desert Crossroads ad Introducing etran finatawa 

Read the CD review: Saharan Intersection