Explore West African Stringed and Percussion Instruments

AfricaNashville is hosting a hands-on music-making session at the Taylor Swift Education Center on Friday, October 23, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. It's a drop-in experience open to all ages, so you can bring the kids or just swing by on your own. The whole thing is built around West African lutes and drums, and you'll be playing them rather than just watching from a seat.

Two leaders from AfricaNashville are heading it up: Biko Casini, a n'goni player and member of Rising Appalachia, and Ibrahima 'Ibro' Dioubate, a multi-instrumentalist and performer of West African music originally from Guinea. Between them, they cover the stringed and percussion sides of the tradition, and they'll be the ones guiding you through the instruments.

The session is part of the museum's Discover Rhiannon Giddens project, a series exploring diverse voices in country music. The specific connection here is the banjo: the instrument was developed in the Caribbean by enslaved people who drew on their memories of West African lutes. That's the thread that ties the West African instruments you'll be playing to the banjo, and by extension, to the country music the museum is known for.

It's held inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at 222 Rep. John Lewis Way S, in the Taylor Swift Education Center. The session is included with museum admission, and it's free for museum members. It runs from 1:00 to 2:30 PM on Friday, October 23.