Les Filles de Illighdad

Said to be the first Tuareg woman to professionally play guitar, Fatou Seidi Ghali began secretly learning the instrument after her brother brought a guitar home from Libya. Ghali told the Guardian that her father disapproved, suggesting if she pursued music, who would watch over the cows? Well, the cows are probably fine, if anything, serenaded as Ghali formed her band, Les Filles de Illighdad, in 2016. Hailing from a small village in the Saharan region of West Niger, Ghali’s Les Filles de Illighdad (which consists of Ghali’s cousin, Alamnou Akrouni, Fatimata Ahmadelher, and, while on tour, Ghali’s brother Abdoulaye Madassane) combines various nomadic folk styles and traditional Tende music via traditional instruments played in unexpected ways. The group’s unified vocalization is, at times, both meditative and melancholic, but always expressive. Detroit’s Shells is also on the bill.