Vieux Farka Touré to play the Cedar Cultural Center on 2009 tour
In 2006 Metacritic ranked Ali Farka Touré’s Savane as the Best Reviewed Album of the Year. Now, following the release of his 2006 self titled debut (and subsequent remix album), Ali’s son Vieux has returned with a triumphant record that echoes the greatness of his late father.
“Having a famous dad can be more of a curse than a blessing. For every Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who overtook his father in the family business, there are thousands of sons who follow their dads with little success. (Franz Xaver Mozart, anyone?) But Vieux Farka Touré, the son of the great Malian guitarist and Grammy award winner Ali Farka Touré, has already stepped out from his late father’s shadow. Ali Farka Touré proved — in case anyone ever doubted it — that the soul of the blues could be found in West Africa. His son Vieux is turning heads with a more radical idea: that those Western Saharan roots can be heard in everything from the Indie Rock scene to Jamaican dub.”
At times Fondo, Vieux’s new album, is delicate and brittle, but the majority of the 11 songs on the record are booming with elegance; Vieux’s voice often acting like a leaf in the wind, directed by the music, it accentuates every move that the sound makes around it without ever becoming overpowered. The Guardian has called Fondo, “A dazzling piece of work;” that it is.
Vieux Farka Touré will be touring North American this Summer in support of Fondo, and after a brief residency in Chicago and a stop of Bonnaroo the talented singer and guitarist will be performing at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.
06.03 Chicago, IL: Hideout
06.04 Chicago, IL: Hideout
06.05 Chicago, IL: Hideout
06.06 Chicago, IL: Hideout
06.12 Manchester, TN: Bonnaroo Music Festival
06.14 Madison, WI: Marquette Waterfront Festival
06.18 Somerville, MA: Somerville Theater
06.19 Ithaca, NY: The Haunt
06.22 Washington, DC: Rock N Roll Hotel
06.25 Minneapolis, MN: Cedar Cultural Center
06.26 Winnipeg, MB: Pyramid Cabaret
06.27 Denver, CO: Quixotes
06.28 Salt Lake City, UT: 33rd Utah Arts Festival
07.01 Bellingham, WA: The Nightlight Lounge
07.02 Vancouver, BC: Performance Works
07.05 Quincy, CA: High Sierra Music Festival
07.07 Los Angeles, CA: Troubadour
07.09 Montreal, QC: Club Soda
07.10 Toronto, ON: Phoenix Theatre
07.15 Portland, OR: Oregon Zoo Amphitheatre
07.16 Bend, OR: Free Concerts in the Park Series
07.18 San Francisco, CA: The Independent
07.19 Detroit, MI: Max M Fisher Music Center
