When: 7 p.m. Where: 1100 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, Cost: $12/adv, $l5/door, Info: 421-9471.

Hailing from the Comoros -- a quartet of spice islands in the western hump of the Indian Ocean influenced by Bantu, Persian, and colonial French cultures -- Nawal comes from a proud line of tradition-breaking women. The strict Sufi society on the Comoros prohibits women from much expression or creativity, but Nawal's mother managed to attend school and eventually find gainful employment. And Nawal took liberation a further step, becoming the first Comorian woman ever to perform music in public. Her music is as diverse as her roots -- snippets of English and passages of French find home in the primarily Kiswahili-based Comorian lyrics.

By Chris J. Magyar