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Rokia Traoré: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Every January, I attendat a New York City nightclub and see some of the most fantastic music I'll experience all year. Now, given the pandemic's challenges and the hardening of international borders, NPR Music and globalFEST moved the 2021 edition from the nightclub to your screen of choice and shared the festival with the world. We called itTiny Desk Meets globalFEST. We presented 16 artists in intimate settings (often behind desks donning globes), all hosted by African superstarAngélique Kidjo.


Rokia Traoré performed at globalFEST in 2005, the music festival's second year, and it's a thrill to present her meditative performance as part of Tiny Desk meets globalFEST. Her work is rooted in the Malian musical tradition, but defies the confines of a single culture. Born in Mali to a diplomat father, Traoré had a nomadic upbringing that exposed her to a wide variety of international musical influences. She joins us from Blues Faso, a theater inside her Foundation Passerelle in Mali, which she created to support emerging, interdisciplinary artists, from music and the performing arts to visual arts and photography. This set capped the final night of our 2021 festival. --globalFEST

SET LIST

  • "Souba Lé"
  • "Tiramakan"
  • "Fakoly"
  • MUSICIANS

  • Mamah Diabaté: Ngoni
  • Samba Diabaté: guitar
  • Massa Joël Diarra: balafon
  • Roméo Djibré: drums
  • Aristide Nebout: bass
  • Rokia Traoré: vocals
  • CREDITS

  • Producer: Rokia Traoré
  • Video: Soumaïla Sangaré, Gaoussou Sanogo
  • Audio: Akre Djoman Joseph & Kabine Djiré
  • Executive Production Management: Djibril Sangaré

  • Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST

    TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Bob Boilen
  • Video Producer: Morgan Noelle Smith
  • Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
  • Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Maia Stern
  • Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey
  • Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
  • GLOBALFEST TEAM

  • Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, and Bill Bragin
  • 2021 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin, and Viviana Benitez
  • Event Producer: Ian Thake
  • Host: Angélique Kidjo
  • Social Media Manager: Valerie French
  • Publicity: Brendan Gilmartin, Chart Room Media
  • Legal Services: Tamizdat
  • Legal Services: Duane Morris
  • Producer: THE OFFICE performing arts + film
  • Video Production: MODEMA Studios
  • Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.