Nomads-turned-rockers to perform

Published Thursday, November 8, 2007 1:35:52 PM Central Time

MARQUETTE -- Tuareg nomads-turned-rockers will perform as part of the Festival in the Desert tour at Northern Michigan University on Thursday, Nov. 15.

Tinariwen will showcase their signature bluesy trance sound that earned them fans like Carlos Santana and Robert Plant, who played with Tinariwen at the first Festival of the Desert concert in Mali. Tinariwen will be joined in the concert by Malian kora maestro Mamadou Diabate.

Tickets are $6 to $15 for the 7:30 p.m. show.

The band made waves throughout the Sahara Desert playing what became the soundtrack for Tuareg independence and reconciliation, according to a press release. Now they are making waves in the American and European rock scenes.

Last July, Santana invited Tinariwen to play as part of his "My Blues Is Deep" night at the Montreux Jazz Festival.