Tinariwen is Tuareg musicians from the Sahara who make astoundingly good music. There is no need to take our word for it – go to YouTube and look for any of the band’s music; “
All of this is on our minds because Tinariwen is touring the U.S. again at the end of the summer (they’re booked to play Englewood in Colorado on Oct. 4), and there has been a bit of a misunderstanding surrounding the band’s show planned for the Ramkat club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sept. 17.
The club announced the show on Facebook this month with a photo of the band wearing their typical robes and turbans.
“So ISIS is playing the Ramcat? LOL,” said a Facebook commenter, who must have thought themselves awfully clever, especially with that “LOL.”
Said another, “Any true American will not support this bunch of trash. Let them perform in their own country. They need to get out of the USA.”
The members of Tinariwen do not have a country. They are nomads. The Tuareg have been forced into refugee camps. That Tinariwen have somewhat escaped the fate of many of their people, borne aloft by their guitar sound, is a gift to everyone with ears to hear.
So do everyone a favor: Just listen to Tinariwen. Let that sound wash over you. It is the sound of freedom – and the greatest reproof we know to some of the ugliest words we have heard lately.
