Concert by Nigerien guitarist and singer Mdou Moctar, closing the night at the Baba Obscura festival in Seattle.
Mdou Moctar plays Baba Yaga on Friday, November 6, as part of the Baba Obscura festival. He's a Nigerien guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Agadez who plays modern rock inspired by Tuareg guitar music, and he'll be performing with a full band.
Moctar's early career was built on DIY ingenuity: he made his first guitar from bicycle cables and recorded the autotuned cult classic Anar in 2008. He first gained attention in West Africa through a mobile-phone and memory-card trading network, and his work blends Saharan styles like takamba and assouf with fiery psychedelic rock. Since signing with Matador Records, he's expanded his sound with a full band and earned international acclaim for his virtuosic "desert blues" shredding, with lyrics sung in the Tamasheq language.
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His set closes out a night of the Baba Obscura festival, a four-night event with six stages spread across six venues in Pioneer Square and Pike Place. Moctar's performance is at Baba Yaga (Baba Yaga Down), 124 S Washington St, from 9:50 PM to 10:45 PM — a 55-minute set.
