Amadou & Mariam from Mali: African world music rhythms during Midsummer Night

The blind married couple from Mali will perform at Wrocław's Centennial Hall on 24 June. Further stars of WrocLove Fest – Noc Świętojańska 2016 will be announced soon. The event could join the most important folk festivals, not only in Poland.

Amadou Bagayoko was the guitarist in Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako, Africa’s most famous band of the late sixties. Mariam Doumbia sang at traditional celebrations. Both are blind, and they met at the Institute for the Visually Impaired in Bamako, the capital of Mali. They have been inseparable ever since. Their concerts are spectacular masterpieces that fill large concert halls with singing, dancing audiences. Their appearances at Europe’s biggest festivals, including Sziget, Roskilde and Poland’s Open’er, demonstrate their popularity.

In recent years, Amadou & Mariam have performed with Coldplay and U2 and collaborated with David Gilmour and Johnny Marr. They also played at Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and the opening of the last two football World Cups. Manu Chao and Damon Albarn have lent their production skills, enabling Amadou & Mariam to work with contemporary rock’s leading creators on Albarn’s Africa Express and various cross-cultural projects such as “L'Afrik C'est Chic”.

As the duo’s worldwide popularity grew, so did the scale and scope of their musical ambitions. Amadou often said that sharing songs and ideas with other musicians and seeking new means of expression was the most exciting adventure a musician could have. This openness and collaboration with a variety of musicians lie at the heart of the new album, “Folila”, which the artists will promote at their Wrocław concert as part of WrocLove Fest – Noc Świętojańska 2016.

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