Terakaft, a desert rock band from Mali, Africa, will be performing at Stuart's Opera House, 52 Public Square, Nelsonville, Ohio Monday at 7 p.m.
The staff at Stuart’s Opera House personally selected its upcoming act: a desert rock band that hails from a nomadic tribe in Mali.
The band, named Terakaft, blends traditional American rock ‘n’ roll with cultural influences from western Africa. The group will perform at Stuart’s at 7 p.m., Monday.
It is Stuart’s inaugural staff pick show, as Koscho said the staff was eager to spread the word about Terakaft.
“The cool thing is that we’re able to bring in acts that are legendary bands from other countries,” Brian Koscho, marketing director at Stuart’s Opera House, said. “We jump at any opportunity to bring a unique band from the other side of the world to play.”
Koscho said the band draws heavily on its experiences in Mali for inspiration.
“Their home has a huge impact on their work,” Koscho said. “For them, the desert is a living, breathing influence on their sound.”
Terakaft has been steadily gaining an audience in the United States and performed at South by Southwest last year in Austin, Texas.
This concert is the culmination of another partnership between Stuart’s and OU’s Performing Arts and Concert Series, which is a co-sponsor.
Koscho and Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of the Campus Involvement Center, have worked in the past on events that involve bringing in African bands. Holzaepfel said it’s important for these musicians to be available to the community.
“We’re trying to bring world music to the area — things that normally wouldn't come to Southeast Ohio,” Holzaepfel said.
Both Holzaepfel and Koscho said the community has backed these events in the past.
“One thing that’s great about our audience is that it’s interested and supportive of live, world music,” Koscho said.
Students new to Athens are also curious about the unfamiliar style of music.
“It sounds interesting,” Megan Doherty, a freshman studying nursing, said. “They’re from a different country and it's something that’s not from around here.”
Coming from a nomadic tribe called the Tuareg, the band formed in 2001. Its music features the familiar sounds of rhythm guitar and crosses it with music native to west Africa. Two of its founding members belonged to another desert rock band called Tinariwen, which has also performed at Stuart’s before.
Terekaft’s songs are not in English, but Koscho said that hasn’t hampered people’s enjoyment in the past.
“Music is a universal — it speaks to everyone,” Koscho said. “You’d be amazed how it bypasses language. It’s part of the experience.”
While this band is not as widely known as some others that have played at Stuart’s, Koscho said he is confident that people will be “leaving as fans.”
“It’s a chance to see a unique band with their own sense of style," Koscho said. "It’s interesting to see how they’ve processed Western rock.”
