Join us for an evening of live music!

📅 Sunday, April 23rd

6pm potluck/social hour (BYOB)

7pm concert

🪙 $25-35 suggested donation

👨‍👩‍👧 All ages, family-friendly

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BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA

https://www.bassekou.com/ngoni-ba/

Bassekou Kouyate's extraordinary musical journey shows that he is unquestionably the most innovative and exciting Malian musician to have emerged in recent years. Having defied tradition, he continues to push the boundaries of his ancient musical heritage, bringing his music to audiences around the world with his phenomenal live band Ngoni ba, comprising of his wife Amy Sacko (a celebrated Malian singer often hailed as 'the Tina Turner of Mali'), and featuring the ngoni in several differing tonal sizes, and percussion (talking drum, Yabara, and Calebasse). He has also released several internationally acclaimed albums; the latest, Miri, earning him ‘Best Artist’ in the Songlines Magazine Music Awards in 2020.

A major star amongst the new generation of African musicians, Bassekou has been revolutionary in establishing a new role for the ngoni, a distant ancestor of the banjo and one of the oldest string instruments in Africa. Comprised of three strings, a calabash gourd and a wooden stick, it has been used for centuries as a secondary orchestral instrument and ceremonial device. By adding strings, developing new techniques of playing and defying tradition by plugging it in and experimenting with sound effects such as the wah-wah peddle, Bassekou has brought the instrument into the musical foreground, where it is now a prominent feature of many Malian bands touring today. In Bassekou's hands, this seemingly limited instrument has grown to accommodate a wider melodic range and versatility, embracing western styles such as jazz, blues and rock and roll, confirming his status as the originator of the electric ngoni, a virtuoso and a visionary.

Over the course of his career, Bassekou has played with stars such as Bonnie Raitt, Ali Farka Toure and Bono and won praise from legends like Eric Clapton. He also made a foray into blues and country with Taj Mahal and has appeared on line-ups with Africa Express in 2016 alongside Paul Weller and Damon Albarn, and played festivals including Glastonbury, Latitude, Roskilde, Fuji Rock Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, WOMAD. It is his daring reworking of his musical heritage that makes him a truly contemporary African musician - a visionary and a maverick who has completely changed our perception of this ancient instrument. By reviving one of the oldest instruments in the world he has bridged the gap between the music of his forefathers to the 21st Century, distinguishing him as an exceptionally talented artist of international stature.

The band:

Bassekou Kouyate - ngoni

Aminata Sacko - lead vocals

Mamadou Kouyate - ngoni bass

Mahamadou Tounkara - yabara, tama

Moctar Kouyate - calebasse

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HALLEY NEAL

https://halleyneal.com/

Halley Neal is a folk singer and songwriter based in Nashville, TN. Inspired by artists like Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin, Halley’s sound combines inspirations of classic folk music and modern day singer-songwriters and her live shows center on themes of positivity and peace.

Graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2019, Halley was chosen from the graduates to perform a song at Berklee’s Commencement Concert at Agganis Arena. The concert honored the 2019 Berklee honorary doctorates, Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake, and Alex Lacamoire, who all attended the show. In her final semester at Berklee, Halley collaborated with artist Plot Twist and her former band Rose & Kennedy to write and release a single called “Lover” which shortly after gained notable traction on Tik Tok. Since it’s release in July 2019, the song has gained over 27 million streams and has seen global acclaim with covers and Tik Toks of the song posted by people from all over the world.

Shortly after graduating from college, Halley moved to Nashville, TN where in her first few months, she was a chosen finalist for “Nashville Rising Song,” a premiere songwriting competition. In Nashville, Halley also hosts house concerts in her backyard bringing together a community of independent musicians. In 2020, Halley became an official Guild Guitars artist, and performed a set of original music at the 2021 NAMM Show with Guild. She is also one of the first artists to participate in Guild’s “Factory Sessions” YouTube series, where she performed an original set of songs live in the Guild Guitars factory in Oxnard California. In 2022, Halley was selected as one of the 10 finalists for the Planet Bluegrass Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriter Showcase and performed on the main stage of the festival. Currently, Halley tours nationally to house concert and listening room venues.

Halley’s debut self-titled record was released on June 4th, 2021. Halley Neal blends sounds that Neal picked up throughout her time studying at her alma mater, Berklee College of Music, as well as in the city she now calls home, Nashville, TN. The record includes a collaboration with artist Plot Twist and her former band, Rose & Kennedy, in an acoustic version of their song “Lover,” and another which was produced by guitarist for Zac Brown Band and former John Mayer co-writer and producer, Clay Cook.

Halley released her second album, "Beautiful and Blue" on September 30th, 2022. She made the record while grieving the loss of her grandmother to dementia. Dedicated to her Gram, on “Beautiful & Blue” Neal discovers the joyful parts within sorrow. Her recent sound blends effortless layered vocals with Americana production and is deeply rooted in ideas of positivity and peace with a throwback to classic folk production.

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This event is hosted by Crossroads Cultural Connections is funded in part by a grant from Quad City Arts and Illinois Humanities.

About Crossroads Cultural Connections: Crossroads Cultural Connections is non-profit organization dedicated to elevating Henry County and the surrounding area socially, culturally, and economically through live music and the performing arts.

About Quad City Arts: Quad City Arts is a non-profit arts organization serving a six-county area in eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois. We are dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development, and celebration of the arts by offering the community arts opportunities, programming, and community events.

About Illinois Humanities: Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that foster reflection, spark conversation, build community, and strengthen civic engagement.