By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Saturday, March 26th, Back2Black will present a live performance by Tinariwen at Fundição Progresso in Lapa. A collective of Tuareg musicians hailing from the Sahara region, Tinariwen is critically acclaimed for its songs that address rebellion and political turmoil in its region.
Founded in the late 1970s by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and fellow musicians from the nomadic Tuareg community, Tinariwen started by performing impromptu shows in the Sahara desert region.
Mixing guitars, rock, blues, and folk with traditional Tuareg instruments, melodies and rhythms to create their unique sound, the collective slowly began to attract attention both from authorities, which lead to arrests and relocations, and from fans, critics, and fellow musicians.
In 2001, Tinariwen organized the Festival au Désert in Mali with French world music ensemble Lo’Jo and the group’s manager Philippe Brix. In the years that followed, Tinariwen would go on to perform at festivals including WOMAD, Rockslide, Coachella, and many others around the world.
The group has released six studio albums, to date, and their fifth album, Tassili, won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
The lineup of Tinariwen during live shows varies due to the nomadic lifestyle of the collective’s members. The Rio de Janeiro show follows two performances by the group in São Paulo on the 23rd and 24th.
Who: Tinariwen
When: Saturday, March 26th, 10PM
Where: Fundição Progresso, R. dos Arcos, 24 – Lapa
Entrance: R$50 – R$100