Dunlevy: 13 daily picks for Montreal's 39th Nuits d'Afrique music festival
The first week, the entertainment is all indoors at venues including the festival's home base, Montreal world-music mecca Club Balattou; then July 15 to 20, the free outdoor stages bring the party to Place des Festivals and the Esplanade Tranquille downtown.
With 120 shows over 13 days, there's a lot to take in. Here are 13 can't-miss concerts at this year's Nuits d'Afrique:
Tuesday
Sarãb (9:30 p.m., Le Ministère, $25). Mixing Arabic, jazz, rock and electronic influences, Paris-based Sarãb offers a thrilling mash-up of punk-tinged, melodic Middle Eastern elements. The band's wide-ranging sound, led by entrancing French-Syrian singer Climène Zarkan and guitarist Baptiste Ferrandis, is steeped in tradition yet boldly modern. 'They're part of the new wave, with rich and original music,' said Nuits d'Afrique co-founder and director Suzanne Rousseau.
Wednesday
Flavia Coelho (8:30 p.m., Olympia Theatre, $45). From Brazil by way of Paris, silky-voiced Flavia Coelho combines samba, bossa nova and other Brazilian flavours with reggae and club music for a festive, mellifluous vibe. She and Montreal producer Poirier had a hit in 2020 with their breezy house track Cafe Com Leite. 'We discovered her in 2019 when she played the main outdoor stage,' Rousseau said. 'She has a strong stage presence.'
Thursday
Noumoucounda Cissoko (8:30 p.m., Club Balattou, $25). Singer-songwriter Noumoucounda Cissoko, a.k.a. MC Griot, used to rap with the popular Senegalese hip-hop group Positive Black Soul. The versatile musician, now based in Montreal, plays kora and percussion and has a striking voice comparable to famed countryman Youssou N'Dour.
Friday
Stogie T (8:30 p.m., Club Balattou, $25). Stogie T, born Boitumelo Molekane, made his name as leader of South African hip-hop group Tumi and the Volume, which performed at the jazz fest way back in 2006. Since going solo in 2016, he continues to expand the parameters of the genre.
July 12
Benkadi (8:30 p.m., Club Balattou, $20). Led by dynamic singer, djembe player, percussionist and dancer Mohammed Mara, Montreal's Benkadi celebrates West African culture in various forms.
July 13
La nuit de la kora with Toumany Kouyaté and Zal Sissokho (8 p.m., Le Gesù, $35). Nuits d'Afrique's annual night devoted to the kora is a celebration of the West African 21-string instrument. In the spotlight this year is Toumany Kouyaté, a veteran of Cirque du Soleil's O show in Vegas whom Rousseau calls a 'great kora player,' performing with his former student, Senegalese Montrealer Zal Sissokho.
July 14
Fabrice Koffy (8:30 p.m., Club Balattou, $20). Born in Ottawa and raised in the Ivory Coast, Fabrice Koffy came to our city for university, intending to become a banker. He fell in with Montreal's funky Kalmunity Collective and began performing slam poetry at their weekly live jams. Let him take you on a lyrical journey, en français.
July 15
Mo'Kalamity (7 p.m., Loto-Québec Stage at the corner of Clark and Ste-Catherine Sts., free). Influenced by the greats including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Burning Spear, Cape Verde's Mo'Kalamity carries the roots reggae torch with eloquence and conviction. Her fifth album, Shine, was produced with legendary Jamaican rhythm team Sly and Robbie.
July 16
Les Mamans du Congo and RRobin (7 p.m., Loto-Québec Stage, free). This Congolese Afro-feminist group, led by singer-rapper Gladys Samba, sing and dance while commenting on the place of women in society. Their infectious songs, lively rhymes and chants are backed by beats from DJ-producer RRobin, who joins them on stage. 'They take lullabies and ancestral songs and modernize and augment them with electronic rhythms,' Rousseau said. 'They're fighters with strong messages. They've never come to Montreal before — they live in Congo; but they have their visas, they'll be here.'
July 17
Marzos and Mateo (10 p.m., TD Stage, at the corner of Jeanne-Mance St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. in Place des Festivals, free). The day's programming closes out with a giant salsa party led by Montreal artists Marzos and Mateo. 'They're more than 15 people on stage — a salsa orchestra with horns, percussion and singers,' Rousseau said, noting that the group was formed in 2019 by music students from McGill.
July 18
Femi Kuti and the Positive Force (10 p.m., TD Stage, free). If you see just one show at Nuits d'Afrique this year, that would be a shame — but if indeed you do, make it Femi Kuti. The son of great Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti is a force of nature with his rousing saxophone, wild dancing, deep grooves, epic jams and boundless energy. Rousseau sees his presence as a reference for the next generation of artists practising the genre's newly surging variation, Afrobeats. 'It's good to have him so the young people doing Afrobeats don't forget where the music came from,' she said.
July 19
Armand Laklass (6 p.m., TD Stage, free). Inspired by his countryman Richard Bona, Cameroonian singer-bassist Armand Laklass is a showman who always brings the party. There will be dancing. 'He just settled in Montreal,' Rousseau said. 'He has a strong stage presence; people know all his songs in Cameroon.'
July 20
Las Karamba (8:15 p.m., TD Stage, free). With six members hailing from Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina and Spain, where they are based, all-female group Las Karamba mixes salsa, bolero, son, rumba, cha-cha-cha, timba and other Latin sounds, with gusto.
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