The great Malian ‘desert blues’ band has always been politically driven as they tell their stories of nomadic life in the Sahara. This concert celebrates Hay’s twin town of Timbuktu, once Tinariwen’s home city. The band have been in exile since 2013 and recorded their latest albums Emmaar and Inside/Outside in the Joshua Tree desert in California. World on 3’s Lopa Kothari hosts the evening, which includes support from emerging world music talent Maelog, a Welsh-Galician roots collective whose uplifting songs feature traditional pipes from both shores with an array of strings and percussion.
The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Friday 29 May at 11pm.