Music from Mali: Cheick Hamala Diabaté w/Amadou Kouate

Don’t miss this special night of music from Mali, featuring Amadou Kouate on kora!

DC’s resident griot, Cheick Hamala Diabaté is The Real Deal: a storyteller, poet, historian, and – dare we say – rock ‘n’ roll star straight from Mali. With the griot tradition firmly nestled in his family tree – his cousin is kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate; and his uncle is Djelimady Tounkara, legendary guitarist for the Super Rail Band – his music evokes wisdom from the elders while maintaining an infectious beat, ideal for dancing.

Amadou Kouyate is the 150th generation of the Kouyate family of Manding Diali (oral historians/musicians of West Africa) and the first generation born of his father’s lineage in America. Amadou performs a musical montage on the 21-string kora, and rhythmic presentations on djembe and koutiro drums.

No cover; donations welcome