Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba North American Tour 2010 Announced

Malian sensation Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba will be touring North America to promote the release of their second album. Since 2005, Bassekou has led Ngoni Ba, the first-ever group built around not one but four ngonis-all played by members of his family. The group’s second CD I Speak Fula comes out on Sub Pop in February of 2010 (preceded by a digital release via iTunes in December ’09) on the occasion of Bassekou’s first North American tour as a headliner. Bela Fleck will join the group on stage for a number of shows.

Bassekou’s longtime friend and booster Lucy Duran (a BBC radio host, record producer, and Mande music scholar) produced the band’s debut, Segu Blue. Before long, Bassekou and Ngoni Ba were touring Europe and in high demand. I Speak Fula builds on the success of Segu Blue . Its 11 tracks provide a star-studded tour of pan-Malian music, including collaborations with Toumani Diabaté, griot vocal legend Kasse Mady Diabaté, master of the horse-hair soku fiddle Zoumana Tereta, and guitar phenomenon Vieux Farka Toure, Ali’s precociously talented son.

Bassekou Kouyate’s releases:

• In North America: I Speak Fula and Segu Blue. Other titles available: Throw Down Your Heart, Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions
• In Europe: I Speak Fula and Segu Blue

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba Tour Schedule:

02/02, Tue: Durango, CO Fort Lewis College *With Béla Fleck
02/03, Wed: Santa Fe, NM Lensic Performing Arts Center *With Béla Fleck
02/04, Thu: Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre *With Béla Fleck
02/05, Fri: Aspen, CO Wheeler Theatre *With Béla Fleck
02/06, Sat: Grand Junction, CO Avalon Theater *With Béla Fleck
02/08, Mon: Boulder, CO Boulder Theatre *With Béla Fleck
02/10, Wed: Dallas, TX Granada Theatre *With Béla Fleck
02/11, Thu: Oxford, MS Lyric Theatre *With Béla Fleck
02/12, Fri: Murray, UT Murray Theater
02/13, Sat: Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall *With Béla Fleck
02/14, Sun: Urbana, IL Canopy Club *With Béla Fleck
02/16, Tue: Cleveland, OH House of Blues *With Béla Fleck
02/17, Wed: Ann Arbor, MI University of Michigan-Hill Auditorium *With Béla Fleck
02/18, Thu: Athens, OH Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium *With Béla Fleck
02/19, Fri: Indianapolis, IN Butler University/Clowes Hall *With Béla Fleck
02/20, Sat: Omaha, NE Holland PAC *With Béla Fleck
02/21, Sun: Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music *With Béla Fleck
02/22, Mon: Hamilton, OH Miami University-Parrish Auditorium
02/24, Wed: Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House *With Béla Fleck
02/25, Thu: Storrs, CT U Conn-Storrs/Jorgenson Center for Performing Arts *With Béla Fleck
02/26, Fri: Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House *With Béla Fleck
02/27, Sat: Lewisburg, PA Bucknett University-Weis Center *With Béla Fleck
03/01, Mon: Ottawa, ON CND Dominion-Chalmers United Church *With Béla Fleck
03/02, Tue: Brunswick, ME Bowdoin College *With Béla Fleck
03/03, Wed: State College, PA Eisenhower Auditorium *With Béla Fleck
03/04, Thu: Roanoke, VA Jefferson Center *With Béla Fleck
03/05, Fri: Frederick, MD Weinberg Center *With Béla Fleck
03/06, Sat: Atlanta, GA Rialto Center *With Béla Fleck
03/08, Mon: Orlando, FL Plaza Theater
03/09, Tue: Fort Pierce, FL Sunrise Theatre
03/10, Wed: Jacksonville, FL Florida Theater
03/11, Thu: Tuscsaloosa, AL BAMA Theater
03/12, Fri: Asheville, NC Orange Peel
03/16, Tue: Seattle, WA The Triple Door
03/18, Thu: San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
03/19, Fri: Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theater
03/20, Sat: Los Angeles, CA Getty Center
03/21, Sun: Los Angeles, CA Getty Center
03/26, Fri: New York, NY Zankel Hall (at Carnegie Hall)
03/27, Sat: Somerville, MA Somerville Theater
03/28, Sun: Rockland, ME The Strand
03/31, Wed: Burlington, VT Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
04/02, Fri: Savannah, GA Savannah Music Festival
04/03, Sat: Savannah, GA Savannah Music Festival
04/07, Wed: St. Louis, MO Lee Theatre, Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center
04/10, Sat: Minneapolis, MN The Cedar
04/15, Thu: Las Cruces, NM NMSU Music Recital Hall