From the Promoter

Massey Hall is proud to present Grammy Award-winning Tuareg group Tinariwen in support of their forthcoming album Elwan (February 2017 via ANTI) on Wednesday, April 12 at 8pm, with special guests Dengue Fever.

Tinariwen are from the Sahara Desert region of northern-eastern Mali, and while their forthcoming album, which features Matt Sweeny (Johnny Cash, Bonnie Prince Billy and Cat Power), Kurt Vile, Mark Lanegan (Queens of the Stone Age, Screaming Trees) and Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age), evokes the cherished deserts of their home, it was recorded a long way away at Rancho de la Luna studios in the desert of California’s Joshua Tree National Park and in M’Hamid El Ghizlane, an oasis in southern Morocco. The album features the sensual yet abrasive riffs and funky, danceable elements for which the band is known.

Over their 30+ year career Tinariwen have performed around the world, they’ve released eight albums amassing fans like Bono, Robert Plant, Thom Yorke, and Carlos Santana. They have recorded and performed with Wilco (with whom they shared the bill at a Coachella festival) and TV on the Radio, and have been called “just about the best guitar-based rock band of the 21st century” by NPR.

Special guests Dengue Fever’s music is a cross-pollination of Khmer rock, garage rock, psychedelic rock and the British Invasion. The LA-based band is fronted by Cambodian-born award-winning vocalist Chhom Nimol, and has, since their 2003 debut, hit major festivals and venues around the world and garnered serious acclaim.