Rokia Traoré and Sweet Billy Pilgrim @ The Sage

Previewed by Hedd Thomas

Concert date: Sunday 2nd May
Venue: Hall One, The Sage Gateshead
Tickets: £19.50


Rokia Traoré has come a long way and changed directions many times in her colourful career. Born into a long history of Malian musicians, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has consistently delighted the public and critics alike for her rich and varying styles.

Releasing her first album Mouneïssa in 1997, it was musically traditional featuring such instruments as the ngoni and balafon. Three years later her album Wanita, entirely self-written, gained her worldwide attention before her 2003 album Bowmboï, featuring two tracks recorded with the Kronos Quartet, earned her the prestigious Critics Award in the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2004 as well as a spot on stage at WOMAD and a tour of North America. Her latest album Tchamantché, with which Traoré was awarded Winner of the Best Artist category in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards in 2009, features infectious afrobeat rhythms mixed with fresh guitar and vocal melodies.

Indeed, the pleasure she takes (and gives) from melding sounds from different regions and genres has given Traoré the title of Ethnomusicologist's Nightmare. As Ian Anderson wrote in fRoots, Traoré's music “is living proof of how, in the hands of an individual with real sensitivity, vision and naked talent, the result can be far greater than the sum of its parts.”

In this concert Traoré will continue this exploration of sounds by combining forces with Sweet Billy Pilgrim. Often compared to England's Radiohead and Icelandic post-rock group Sigur Rós, Sweet Billy Pilgrim comprises singer-songwriter Tim Elsenburg, bassist and bajo player Anthony Bishop and drummer Alistair Hamer. Nominated for the Mercury Music Prise in 2009, their latest album Twice Born Men has received critical acclaim on the English rock scene.

This concert is set up to be a fascinating encounter between a Malian star and an upcoming English rock group. Whether or not the combination will be a success is yet to be seen. But if there's one musician who has the talent to tackle the challenge it is Rokia Traoré.