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Thursday, April 15

Africa to Appalachia

Bomhard Theater, Kentucky Center

501 W. Main St. • 584-7777

www.jaymestone.com

$25; 8 p.m.

Jayme Stone won a Juno for his 2008 Africa to Appalachia, and that was merely the pinnacle of a long creative journey. “Early on when I started playing banjo, I discovered African music,” Stone said in an interview earlier this year. “There was a resonant quality.” He went to western Africa in 2007, staying for three months, and it was there he met kora player and griot Mansa Sissoko, developing a close friendship despite language barriers. “I want to be inside that tradition enough that, as I am being creative and allowing my various influences (including bluegrass) to be there, I have some grounding in that music,” he said. “The process has been really organic, starting with the friendship with Mansa … and trying to communicate across cultures — that’s the overarching concept.” Mansa’s cousin and fellow kora player/griot Yacouba Sissoko join Stone’s band. “It doesn’t sound African, but it doesn’t sound Western … it’s our music.” —Martin Z. Kasdan Jr.