BLUES MUSIC is widely thought to have originated along the shores of the Mississippi River. But in truth, the roots of this ubiquitous music -- and therefore of rock 'n' roll as well -- can be traced further back to another great river, the Niger, which winds its way through several countries in western Africa on its way to the Atlantic.

Tinariwen is a group of Touareg people from one of those countries, Mali. They play yearning, haunting, politically charged music that incorporates Western and Middle Eastern instruments, specifically the electric guitar, and musical influences with traditional melodies and percussion, along with stories of drought, travel, struggle and hardship. The result, as heard on their latest album, Amassakoul, is positively spine-tingling.

Tinariwen is one of more than a dozen acts of dizzying diversity playing this weekend's All Over The Map festival at Harbourfront. Also at the weekend-long festival, which examines the way geography influences music, are Venezuelan-born jazz singer Eliana Cuevas, Senegalese hip-hop trio Daara J, Indian-Jamaican band Funkadesi, Parisian-Malian singer Daby Toure, and Angolan-Portuguese multi-instrumentalist Victor Gama. There's also a CD release party for Do Right Jazz, an album of gems from the CBC Radio archives, featuring performances by Billy Robinson, Kathryn Moses and DJ John Kong. For more information, check out harbourfrontcentre.com.