Orchestra Baobab

"One of West Africa's greatest bands ever...you'll absolutely love this."--Folk Roots

Aptly tagged "Africa's Buena Vista Social Club," Orchestra Baobab from Senegal became musical legends in the 1970s, playing at Dakar's Baobab Club. The group's top players, along with Youssou N'Dour's Super Etoile, Super Diamano, and other key bands, established Senegal's reputation as a catalyst for new musical ideas in Africa.

Their seductive lilting grooves reveal a deft assimilation of Cuban rumba influences, as crucial to the emergence of Afropop as American R and B. Orchestra Baobab's openness to music trends from Mali and throughout West Africa also signals a pan-African spirit that transcends national and cultural boundaries on that continent.

With rippling guitar lines, smoldering saxes, and mesmerizing vocals, Orchestra Baobab will transfix you when they take the stage in their Columbus debut.