Youssou N'Dour Reschedules World Tour--Have you seen him

He's back touring the US again. I sadly missed him with an orchestra on the "Egypt" tour. He's got a nice new cd out (with guests from Mali and Northern Senegal and uh, Nenah Cherry again).

Me, Mark Jenkins, and X-gau like the new cd and him live--

In the October 12 episode of NPR's All Songs Considered, Robert Christgau, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, calls Youssou N'Dour and Super Étoile "the best band in the world." Before closing the episode with the song "4-4-44" from Youssou's new record, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take), Christgau urges listeners to catch one of the live shows on Youssou's upcoming US tour: "It's very simple," he says, "If you're within 150 miles, don't miss them."

The entire All Songs Considered episode is available online at npr.org. PR stuff from Nonesuch

tomorrow

Alas it won't be one of those all-night shows he does in NY and Senegal. His voice sounds great on the new cd, and the polyrhythmic percussion is pretty impressive too.

Wow, what a great show. I'll take his band's polyrhythms over Battles or whomever, and Youssou's vocals over virtually any other singer around.

The percussionists were great

Was just listening to his Egypt cd again. Wow, what a voice. Wish I could go up to NY and see Youssou's African Ball at the Nokia Theater in NY Thanksgiving night at 11

None of you New Yorkers headed out, full of turkey and stuffing, and danced it off to Youssou?

I surely would have--had I not been stuck in Athens with the NYC blues agin', that is.

I know he played Miami, and I saw him in DC but I don't have the tourguide handy for the rest of the south (assuming you mean Athens, Georgia and not Athen Greece)

haha--no, I actually did mean Greece. I think he played here as part of the Amnesty International tour of '88--with Springsteen, Gabriel, Sting, etc. doing their thing for the cause. But, alas, I missed that too.

I think he might have even sung a song there at the 2004 Olympics. Not sure though. He does a an all-night show in Paris every year I think, but that's not exactly next door to Athens either.

He's getting more front of the newspaper attention for his "If the US wants to win a war, it should win the war against malaria" quote than he is getting from arts sections and websites for the current tour or the recent cd.

New Yorkers can see this movie tonight:

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Film at 6:30pm - followed by Q&A with director Pierre-Yves Borgeaud

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES - 32 Second Avenue (southeast corner of 2nd St.)

Then come join us for an African Dance Party
with DJ NEVA ("NY International" - Radio Soleil, NYC)

8:30pm to Midnight at BOWERY BAR - 40 E. 4th St. (at Bowery, southwest corner of 4th St.)

$25 (includes film & catered after-party)
Tickets are going fast!
Call (212) 864-1760 or visit http://www.nyadff.org/tickets.html

ADFF CENTERPIECE
YOUSSOU N'DOUR: RETURN TO GOREE
NY PREMIERE
Switzerland/Luxembourg/Senegal, 2006, 90min, musical documentary, English and French with English subtitles, Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, dir.
In "Youssou N'Dour: Return to Goree" by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, Youssou N'Dour, the internationally renown Senegalese singer decides to give a Jazz concert on the island of Gorée to commemorate the humanity of those who started their journey in life as slaves in the New World and created, against all odds, one of the most important and celebrated musical expressions in the world. Following Youssou N'Dour as he travels to various cities in Europe and the USA to recruit talented musicians is a treat, as the viewer is exposed to many intense moments of musical and spiritual communion. With the participation of musician and writer Imamu Amiri Baraka, pianist Moncel Genoud, and drummer Idris Muhammad, among others, "Youssou N'Dour: Return to Gorée" is a film that galvanizes the Global Black Experience in a unique way. Thu. Nov. 29 @ 6:30pm. Screening followed by Q&A and a catered African Dance Party at the Bowery Bar. Part of Slavery in Film program.

http://profile.imeem.com/5G-ED-/music/BUx0PnAA/mokobe_profitez_feat_youssou_ndour/

France-based Malian rapper Mokobe with Youssou N'Dour from Mokobe's most recent cd

He is playing Montreal tomorrow night. I was planning to go and was so excited but now they've cancelled the guestlist. None of my friends are going and it is $51 (!). Should i go?

Yes. Some acts are worth splurging for and he is one of 'em.

He is playing Montreal tomorrow night. I was planning to go and was so excited but now they've cancelled the guestlist. None of my friends are going and it is $51 (!). Should i go?

Had the same experience here--this kind of gig (not one of the usual Atlanta promoters is putting it mildly) almost guarantees guestlist clusterfuck. I may have been on the list but there was no list to be found. Paid my 35 bucks and it was worth twice that. Just stunning. If you're hoping for the soulful side of Youssou STAY HOME. He rocked it from the second he hit the stage--we left before the band was through and there's no telling how long they might have played. God Almighty, they were rockin'.

He comes to DC virtually every year lately and I just saw him again. I love his voice and music live, and on some other threads here always have to try to convince people that he's not polished and crossover live. He started with a mix of songs from various albums over the years and then after around an hour took a break. He came back and said he was gonna just play "local" Senegalese music and he encouraged everyone to dance. The next hour and twenty minuters were just that. With a great guest dancer. The percussionists sounded impressive. Little serious talking from him. I expected to hear something about Paris, but he just wanted to have fun. And it was.

http://ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=30747

That is supposed to link to the thread about his Egypt album, which is awesome and unlike any other release of his

Saw him and his band again. Good show. Barely any crossover material— just an abbreviated verse or 2 of 7 Seconds before he went into a powerful rendition of ballad “New Africa “ accompanied only by a drummer. He did plenty of upbeat mbalax dance music with prominent , skittering percussion plus some mid-tempo afropop.

Been on a kick: The Lion, Set, and Coono Du Réér.

Saw him open for Peter Gabriel in 86 but have never been a fan. Recommendations, old and newer?

Just did!

I like his Egypt album which is one of a kind - he's working with an Egyptian orchestra and an oud player and the album has a Sufi Islamic lyric approach and musically combines Senegalese and North African and Middle Eastern approaches. I think his voice is stunning on this one.

Unperson I also think you need to find a live album recorded in front of a Senegalese audience at home , or a largely Senegalese audience recorded elsewhere (there are tapes of his all night shows in NYC at the Apollo and other uptown places I think). There's no attempts at those live concerts to crossover with slick polished keyboards and more easy going vocals. Just lots of strong emotive vocals supported by Senegalese curved drumstick against handheld percussion, and others in the large rhythm section.

I also think Egypt is stronger by a good margin than any of his other albums I've heard, really beautiful instrumentation (though Coono du Réér has some nice tracks). I haven't dug back into much of his 80s work though

don't sleep on etoile de dakar imo

The Etiole de Dakar comp released in the early 2000s is sensational.

Once Upon A Time In Dakar.
Yeah was just about to say something like that.

https://afropop.org/articles/youssou-ndour-lights-the-world-in-2025

Good interview with Youssou N'Dour about his new album Light the World (Éclairer le Monde), musicians in his life who have passed away recently, the emphasis on vocals and percussion on the new album and the producers he worked with in Spain on the album, Michael League from Snarky Puppy, and Weedie Braimah, plus afropop music with traditional aspects vs afropop/afrobeats

Spin mag interview adds other details

https://www.spin.com/2025/04/the-spin-interview-youssou-ndour/

Saw him at Carnegie a few years ago and it was glorious. His show at Kings Theatre this weekend still has an abundance of tickets - I would go if it wasn't such a pain to get to from where I am. (Don't have a car, and the drive is too long to make an Uber affordable.)

Saw him in Miami in fall 2018 -- marvelous. The audience danced!

Same here! Most of them stood up and stayed standing and dancing through the whole show, which is quite something at Carnegie Hall.

Saw him in ... 2007? Like I've probably posted in this thread, it wasn't sold out, which is insane to me.

Have seen him live a bunch. Am going to see him again next Tues April 29 at Strathmore outside DC.

DC area gig was fun last night. Lots of uptempo mbalax songs with 4 percussionists taking the lead, one song dedicated to his recently deceased late guitarist - it featured a bit of a guitar solo, some ballads where he N'Dour showed off his vocal range, no old pop crossover songs . Lots of dressed up Africans in the crowd