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Etran de L'Air at the Williamsburg Grange Hall
Etran de L’Aïr (or “stars of the Aïr region”) welcomes you to Agadez, the capital city of Saharan rock.
From the now famous music scene in Niger’s desert capital city (think Bombino or Mdou Moctar) comes a family band that has been playing the wedding circuit for over 25 years. Their hypnotic riffs and raucous, sun-schlazed melodies are pan-African party music , rooted in celebration and layered with the cultural diversity of Niger’s many tribes.
Whereas other Tuareg guitarists look to Western rock, Etran de L’Aïr play the cultural influences of their hometown: from Northern Malian blues, Hausa bar bands, to Congolese Soukous. It’s perhaps this quality that makes them so beloved in Agadez.
“We play for the Tuareg, the Toubou, the Zarma, the Hausa,” band leader Moussa “Abindi” Ibra explains. “When you invite us, we come and play.”
Their music is rooted in celebration, and invokes the exuberance of an Agadez wedding, with an overwhelming abundance of guitars, as simultaneous solos playfully pass over one another with a restrained precision, forceful yet never overindulgent.
In the city of Agadez, in fact, Tuareg guitar music is everywhere. It’s an integral part of the social fabric — played in weddings, baptisms, political rallies, and yes, occasionally concerts. It’s fast and frenetic, filled with the staccato crash of full drum kits, spontaneous clapping jams, and a pentatonic boogie that gets everyone jumping and dancing.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2630682-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2630682-2
