Rising Malian Guitarist Vieux Farka Touré to Play Yugong Yishan, Jan 15

He’s been called the Hendrix of the Sahara, and for good reason.

Over the course of seven albums, Malian guitarist and songwriter Vieux Farka Touré has dazzled world music fans with his “ethereal, filigree guitar picking,” as the Boston Phoenix put it.

Vieux is the son of fellow Malian guitar star Ali Farka Touré (click here to see him perform), a Grammy winner credited for shedding light on the overlap between Western Saharan music and American blues in the 1980s, spurning on a new genre called desert blues in the process.

Despite that intimidating family lineage, Vieux is quickly gaining on his father’s legendary track record, not only receiving critical acclaim but also invitations to perform at major events like the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he shared the bill with Shakira and Alicia Keys.

However, Vieux came close to never attaining such feats. In a 2010 interview with Mother Jones he described how his father tried to discourage him from pursuing music professionally, saying: "My father thought that if I was to go into the army, at the least I would have a reliable paycheck at the end of each month with which to feed my family. Music is less assured. One could say more dangerous!"

Of course, the elder Touré couldn't help but eventually concede to his son's obvious talent. And Vieux found several father figures that accompanied and guided him along his own musical journey, including Ali's friend and fellow legendary West African musician Toumani Diabate, Israeli songwriter and pianist Idan Raichel (you can read more about their collaboration here), and American producer and guitarist for the band Soulive Eric Krasno, who produced Vieux's 2011 album The Secret. That latter collaboration is certainly one of the most successful Vieux has embarked upon, in large part because joining with Krasno afforded the African musician the opportunity to also record with established American stars like Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks, and John Scofield. However, in a fitting ode to his father, the LP's most dazzling track is the title track, which also happens to be the last song that Vieux recorded with Ali before his passing.

Click here, here, and here to see some of this rising star guitarist's best live performances, and be sure to head to Yugong Yishan on January 15 to bathe in the warm hum of Vieux's virtuous playing in the flesh.

Vieux Farka Touré will perform at Yugong Yishan on January 15 at 8.30pm. Tickets are RMB 100 advance, or RMB 150 at the door. For tickets, click here.

A shorter version of this article originally appeared in the January/February issue of the Beijinger, which you can read here via Issuu, via the PDF here, or in hard copy at all of your favorite venues across town.