The Festival in the Desert was a world-renowned annual musical gathering held near Timbuktu in northern Mali, beloved by local folk as well as lovers of the "desert blues" sound who visited from around the world. That is, until the political unrest that began in 2012 forced a hiatus after that year's festival.

This summer three artists who played that last festival hit the road in an awareness-raising North American Caravan for Peace Tour, including a free Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors concert on Wednesday July 31st, a concert at Bard College Fisher Center in Red Hook New York on Thursday August 1 and an intimate show at Littlefield, 622 DeGraw St. in Gowanus, Brooklyn on Saturday August 3.

All three will play live on tonight's show: Superb singer / guitarist Mamadou Kelly and his group - Kelly carries on the captivating style he honed playing with the late great Ali Farka Toure's group as well as with Afel Bocoum; the ground-breaking and compelling women-led Timbuktu Tuareg traditional ensemble Tartit (led by singer Fadimata Walet Oumar, better known as “Disco"); and Tartit's alter-ego Imharhan - the group morphed into a psychedelic Tuareg electric unit led by Disco's brother Mohamed Issa Oumar Ansary.

Massive thanks to our illustrious engineer Dan Barker and assistant Kieran Byram! And to Christopher Nolan and his label Clermont Music for making this show - and the tour, and cds by all the artists - possible. And for translating!