Rokia Traore

Read the four star review in The Guardian (29 Apr) “an exhilarating performance”

Two boundary-busting acts. One stage.

Rokia Traoré studied in Brussels and performed in a rap band before deciding to go back to Mali to create the music she wanted, which was to be “not pop, not jazz, not classical but something contemporary with traditional instruments”, as she says.

Her album Bownboi was described by Time as ‘mesmerising… casting its spell with virtuoso vocals, rich textures and startling diversity.’ The Times proclaimed, ‘Traoré’s voice transforms everything it touches. Sometimes caressing, sometimes keening, it is as agile as some rare desert bird’.

Rokia is equally celebrated for her live shows which Time Out says are ‘arguably the most exciting, most thrilling live African music show around.’

“Arguably the most adventurous African artist around strikes gold with a huge musical leap into the guitar-driven bluesy territory usually reserved for Salif Keita. Terrific.” **** MOJO

Upcoming band Sweet Billy Pilgrim have been chosen by Rokia Traoré to perform the opening set. Their second album, Twice Born Men, was chosen by The Sunday Times as one of the top 100 best albums of 2009 and nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. According to Uncut it was the best album of its kind since Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid.

Official Website Rokia Traoré

Official Website Sweet Billy Pilgrim

“Traore has a magpie eye for developments in western music, her band in consequence sounding like a kind of African Fleetwood Mac, both intricate and melodically accessible, her impressive singing voice pointing the way” Guardian Guide