The return of Cote d'Ivoire's vivacious and dynamic singer (and dancer) Dobet Gnahoré, with a new album Djekpa La You, and a multitude of new fans in the wake of her recent Grammy Award (Best Urban/Alternative performance) for her contribution to India. Arie's cover of Sade's song Pearls.
Tickets go on sale at noon Fri Mar 12 from the Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Cedar outlets, and online at Ticketweb. $25 advance, $30 day of show Standing room only. The Cedar will accommodate people with special needs
Grupo Fantasma, the funkiest, finest and hardest working Latin orchestra to come out of the United States in the last decade continue their relentless assault of the road. “They blast off in their own funktified, genre-breaking directions” exclaim Billboard Magazine and the Boston Globe declares that “Fantasma is honing a decidedly 21st-century version of Latin groove.” Their trademark innovative sound and incendiary live shows garnered a cover feature in Pollstar Magazine, radio spots on NPR’s “Day to Day” and PRI’s “The World” and extensive press coverage throughout North America and Europe. Their most recent album Sonidos Gold was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Latin Rock / Alternative Album category, and spent several months in the top ten of the CMJ world charts.
Bassam Saba is one of the nation's leading figures of Arabic music. Saba is a world-renowned nay virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist, performing on oud, violin, buzuq, saz and western classical flute. Saba studied nay, oud and violin at the Lebanon National Conservatory. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris where he received his BA in Western Classical music and Flute Performance at the Conservatoire Municipal des Gobelins. In 1979, Saba moved to Moscow to study at the prestigious Gnessin Musical Pedagogical Institute where he received an MA in Western Flute Performance and Music Education (1985). He later returned to Beirut where he began to work extensively with the biggest stars of the Arab World: Fairouz, the diva of Lebanon, and composers Marcel Khalife and Ziad Rahbani.
Two stunning multi-instrumentalists performing as a duo for a special, limited U.S. tour. Molsky is well known in the American old-time music community for his fiddling, but also sings and plays guitar and banjo. Möller is "the Quincy Jones of Swedish folk," whose multiple projects include Frifot, a duo with Scottish fiddler Aly Bain, and his own world music big band. He is best known for his mandola playing, but also is a capable wind player.
Mellow French acoustic pop star Tété was born in Dakar, Senegal, but when his parents divorced, he returned with his mother to northeastern France. As a teen, Tété drew his musical inspiration from the pop and rock music of the day. Using the guitar given him by his mother, he assembled small bands with friends and began experimenting with songwriting, composing mainly in English. In 1998, Tété moved to Paris, playing cafés and busking before forming a successful trio with drummer Alberto Malo and bassist Evy Moon. The young men were quickly signed to Sony/Epic, releasing their debut record, L’Air de Rien, in 2001. While working on the record, Tété maintained a busy performing schedule as a solo artist, building a healthy-sized fan base via small Paris clubs and cafés.
Taj Weekes’ music is more than just entertainment. The St Lucian roots reggae artist’s music stirs thought, provokes discussion and inspires people to think for themselves, free from the constraints of the corporate media. On his beautiful album Deidem, released on his independent label, Jatta Records, Weekes sings assuredly and soulfully for the voiceless and the oppressed, taking his music to a new level of commitment and universal appeal.
A grooving double-bill with eight-person modern reggae band John Brown's Body, and the instrumental, Malian-influenced band Toubab Krewe. JBB's current evolution builds on a reggae foundation, incorporating elements from different genres. The new songs are timeless yet futuristic, anchored yet exploring.
Legendary underground cartoonist Robert Crumb and guitarist Dominique Cravic founded Les Primitifs du Futur in 1986, craving real Parisian musette instead of the poor imitations they heard in variety shows. The members of Les Primitifs du Futur brilliantly blend world-musette and Django-style guitar into old-fashioned originals, sounding like they've stepped right out the '30s. Musette, a style that developed in France at the turn of the century before exploding in Paris in the 1930s and '40s, mixes popular folk dancing from Auvergne with swing, gypsy inflections, and polka. Musette is, by definition, dance music.
The return of Cote d'Ivoire's vivacious and dynamic singer (and dancer) Dobet Gnahoré, with a new album Djekpa La You, and a multitude of new fans in the wake of her recent Grammy Award (Best Urban/Alternative performance) for her contribution to India. Arie's cover of Sade's song Pearls.
Grupo Fantasma, the funkiest, finest and hardest working Latin orchestra to come out of the United States in the last decade continue their relentless assault of the road. “They blast off in their own funktified, genre-breaking directions” exclaim Billboard Magazine and the Boston Globe declares that “Fantasma is honing a decidedly 21st-century version of Latin groove.” Their trademark innovative sound and incendiary live shows garnered a cover feature in Pollstar Magazine, radio spots on NPR’s “Day to Day” and PRI’s “The World” and extensive press coverage throughout North America and Europe. Their most recent album Sonidos Gold was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Latin Rock / Alternative Album category, and spent several months in the top ten of the CMJ world charts.
Bassam Saba is one of the nation's leading figures of Arabic music. Saba is a world-renowned nay virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist, performing on oud, violin, buzuq, saz and western classical flute. Saba studied nay, oud and violin at the Lebanon National Conservatory. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris where he received his BA in Western Classical music and Flute Performance at the Conservatoire Municipal des Gobelins. In 1979, Saba moved to Moscow to study at the prestigious Gnessin Musical Pedagogical Institute where he received an MA in Western Flute Performance and Music Education (1985). He later returned to Beirut where he began to work extensively with the biggest stars of the Arab World: Fairouz, the diva of Lebanon, and composers Marcel Khalife and Ziad Rahbani.
Two stunning multi-instrumentalists performing as a duo for a special, limited U.S. tour. Molsky is well known in the American old-time music community for his fiddling, but also sings and plays guitar and banjo. Möller is "the Quincy Jones of Swedish folk," whose multiple projects include Frifot, a duo with Scottish fiddler Aly Bain, and his own world music big band. He is best known for his mandola playing, but also is a capable wind player.
Mellow French acoustic pop star Tété was born in Dakar, Senegal, but when his parents divorced, he returned with his mother to northeastern France. As a teen, Tété drew his musical inspiration from the pop and rock music of the day. Using the guitar given him by his mother, he assembled small bands with friends and began experimenting with songwriting, composing mainly in English. In 1998, Tété moved to Paris, playing cafés and busking before forming a successful trio with drummer Alberto Malo and bassist Evy Moon. The young men were quickly signed to Sony/Epic, releasing their debut record, L’Air de Rien, in 2001. While working on the record, Tété maintained a busy performing schedule as a solo artist, building a healthy-sized fan base via small Paris clubs and cafés. 
Taj Weekes’ music is more than just entertainment. The St Lucian roots reggae artist’s music stirs thought, provokes discussion and inspires people to think for themselves, free from the constraints of the corporate media. On his beautiful album Deidem, released on his independent label, Jatta Records, Weekes sings assuredly and soulfully for the voiceless and the oppressed, taking his music to a new level of commitment and universal appeal.
A grooving double-bill with eight-person modern reggae band John Brown's Body, and the instrumental, Malian-influenced band Toubab Krewe. JBB's current evolution builds on a reggae foundation, incorporating elements from different genres. The new songs are timeless yet futuristic, anchored yet exploring. 
Legendary underground cartoonist Robert Crumb and guitarist Dominique Cravic founded Les Primitifs du Futur in 1986, craving real Parisian musette instead of the poor imitations they heard in variety shows. The members of Les Primitifs du Futur brilliantly blend world-musette and Django-style guitar into old-fashioned originals, sounding like they've stepped right out the '30s. Musette, a style that developed in France at the turn of the century before exploding in Paris in the 1930s and '40s, mixes popular folk dancing from Auvergne with swing, gypsy inflections, and polka. Musette is, by definition, dance music. 
