Seattle is a popular stop for touring world beat artists, and we have a nice contingent of local world music artists. Here’s the current calendar of upcoming shows (click here for an archive of past shows).
If you know of an event that should be listed on this page, please let me know.
| Date | Artist | City | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/13 | Manghis Khan | Manghis Khan in Seattle | Egan’s Ballard Jam House |
| Time: 9:00pm. Address: 1707 NW Market. Greeting Friends! Manghis Khan will playing a set of original music composed by Tony Grasso, inspired by American Jazz, travels through Southeast Asia and China, and the rhythms of West Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East! Featuring: Yaw Amponsah – Asanti drums and Djembe Tony Grasso – Trumpet Viren Kamdar – Cajon, Congas Kevin McCarthy – Upright Bass Date: Saturday, March 13, 2010 Time: 9:00pm – 11:00pm Location: Egan’s Ballard Jam House Street: 1707 NW Market City/Town: Seattle, WA Reservations Recommended. Hope to see you there! Viren Manghis Khan African and Latin percussion, trumpet and bass Read the blog post about this show. | |||
| 3/14 | African All-Stars | African All-Stars in Seattle | Hidmo |
| Time: 8:00pm. Admission: FREE. Address: 2000 S. Jackson St. Venue phone: 206-329-1534. The name says it all. Very danceable music from some of Seattle’s best African musicians, led by Mohammed Shaibu on guitar, vocals and talking drum. Read the blog post about this show. | |||
| 3/16 | Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba | Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba in Seattle | The Triple Door |
| Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $20 Advance / $23 Day of Show. Age restrictions: All Ages. Box office: 206-838-4333. Address: 216 Union St. Venue phone: 206-838-4333. “The back of their new album shows Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba standing on the street with the legendary train station of Bamako behind them. In the 80s a young Bassekou Kouyate played a concert there together with members of the famous Rail Band. During the show Bassekou suddenly stood up and walked up to the front of the stage. For the first time a ngoni player strapped his instrument over his shoulder like an electric guitar and was playing a solo standing up. The audience was stunned. Traditionalists even started a debate after the concert about whether this young man was allowed to change the style of playing ngoni. What was new then has long become common practice in Mali today.” Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||
| 3/17 | Balkan Beat Box | Balkan Beat Box in Seattle | Showbox at the Market |
| Time: 8:00pm. Admission: $17.50 ADV-$20.00 DOS. Age restrictions: No Minors. Address: 1426 First Ave. Venue phone: 206-628-3151. From the Balkan Beat Box website: “BBB are TAMIR MUSKAT and ORI KAPLAN ‚ Joined with the gifted musicians/composers Itamar Ziegler, Dana Leong. Both Tamir and Ori have been active for a decade in NYC’s premier underground bands like Firewater, Gogol Bordello, Big Lazy, Shot’nez, Victoria Hanna. and DJing around the world. Joined with VJ Alma Har’el who is one of Israel’s most accomplished VJ (using pre-recorded material incorporating artists on stage) and MC, Vocalist, Percussionist Tomer Yosef, the BBB show came to life. The idea of BBB is a natural reaction of musicians who are accomplished with not only tools and disciplines, but also DJing and extreme instrumentalism. All that topped with an intense lifetime of research into their own non-Western roots as well as other cultures. In collaborations with artists from Bulgaria, Morocco, Spain, Israel, and Turkey and through events synchronized with VJ Alma Har’el, BBB has created a magical show. A semi circus event lasting 3-4 hours, involving many disciplines with a basic core band on stage of 7-8 musicians and local artists (drawing on many multidisciplinary artists around the world). The event is synchronized and keeps the audience guessing where the next surprise will appear from.” Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||
| 3/21 | Musekiwa Chingodza | Musekiwa Chingodza in Seattle | Hidmo |
| Time: 8:00pm. Admission: FREE. Address: 2000 S. Jackson St. Venue phone: 206-329-1534. Enjoy the soulful and uplifting music of visiting Zimbabwean mbira player Musekiwa Chingodza. Born in 1970 into a family of great mbira players in Mwangara village, Murehwa, Zimbabwe, Chingodza began playing mbira at the age of five. He is on a six-month tour of the US and will be accompanied by Eugene mbira player Bud Cohen. Read the blog post about this show. | |||
| 3/27 | Direct Flight: Havana-Seattle | Direct Flight: Havana-Seattle in Seattle | The Triple Door |
| Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $15. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 216 Union St. Venue phone: 206-838-4333. This performance will feature Jose Carrión, former lead dancer/ choreographer with internationally touring Cuban dance troupe, Cutumba, local dance legend, Maiensy Sanchez of Camagüey, Cuba, Pedro Vargas, former percussionist with Buena Vista Social Club artist Barbarito Torres, Michael Spiro, Grammy-nominated recording artist, educator, and percussionist with San Francisco’s La Moderna Tradición; Carlos Cascante of Tumbao and Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Elspeth Savani and Miguel Muñoz of Orchestra Zarabanda, and many more. Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||
| 3/28 | Atlantic Melody | Atlantic Melody in Seattle | Hidmo |
| Time: 8:00pm. Admission: FREE. Address: 2000 S. Jackson St. Venue phone: 206-329-1534. High-energy pop music of Guinea, with a group brought to you by Edward Souarez (Guinea), the best African trap-set drummer and vocalist this side of the Atlantic. Read the blog post about this show. | |||
| 4/06 | Habib Koite | Habib Koite in Seattle, WA | Jazz Alley |
| Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $26.50. Box office: 206-441-9729. Address: 2033 6th Avenue, Seattle WA 98121. Venue phone: 206-441-9729. The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents African guitarist and vocalist Habib Koite for two nights. Band members are Habib Koite (voice/guitar), Keletigui Diabate (balafon/violin), Souleyman Ann (drums/calabash/backing vocals), Abdoul Wahib Berthe (bass, kamale ngoni, backing vocals), Mahamadou Kone (talking drum/doum doum/caragnan), Boubacar Sidibe (guitar/backing vocals/harmonica). Set times Tuesday and Wednesday are at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6pm on Tuesday and 5:30pm on Wednesday. Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||
| 4/07 | Habib Koite | Habib Koite in Seattle, WA | Jazz Alley |
| Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $26.50. Box office: 206-441-9729. Address: 2033 6th Avenue, Seattle WA 98121. Venue phone: 206-441-9729. The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley presents African guitarist and vocalist Habib Koite for two nights. Band members are Habib Koite (voice/guitar), Keletigui Diabate (balafon/violin), Souleyman Ann (drums/calabash/backing vocals), Abdoul Wahib Berthe (bass, kamale ngoni, backing vocals), Mahamadou Kone (talking drum/doum doum/caragnan), Boubacar Sidibe (guitar/backing vocals/harmonica). Set times Tuesday and Wednesday are at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6pm on Tuesday and 5:30pm on Wednesday. Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||
| 4/09 - 4/11 | Honk Fest West | Honk Fest West in Seattle | Multiple Venues |
| Time: 5:00pm. www.HONKFESTWEST.com The streets, cafes, and pubs of Seattle will be overflowing with the lively sound of horn players and drummers from more than a dozen street bands. The bands are converging on Seattle from five states & Canada for the third annual HONK! FEST WEST! This year’s festival will occur across the city from Friday April 9, 2010 through Sunday April 11, 2010. Read the blog post about this show. | |||
| 5/03 | King Sunny Ade | King Sunny Ade in Seattle | The Triple Door |
| Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $27 Advance / $32 Day of Show. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 216 Union St. Venue phone: 206-838-4333. Innovator extraordinaire in the lively form of juju music, King Sunny Ade has also become an international messenger for peace, love and respect, a gospel he spreads through his intense performance schedule of the last thirty years. He is at once a world-renowned performer and one of Nigeria’s most popular and prolific musical artists, with over 100 albums to his credit in his native land. Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||
| 5/04 | King Sunny Ade | King Sunny Ade in Seattle | The Triple Door |
| Time: 7:30pm. Admission: $27 Advance / $32 Day of Show. Age restrictions: All Ages. Address: 216 Union St. Venue phone: 206-838-4333. Innovator extraordinaire in the lively form of juju music, King Sunny Ade has also become an international messenger for peace, love and respect, a gospel he spreads through his intense performance schedule of the last thirty years. He is at once a world-renowned performer and one of Nigeria’s most popular and prolific musical artists, with over 100 albums to his credit in his native land. Read the blog post about this show. Buy tickets | |||