Putumayo’s Acoustic Africa Tour Comes To Boulder
Every so often, an event reminds us why we are so moved by song, its beautiful melody, rhythm and message. Such an event, Putumayo’s Acoustic Africa Tour featuring Habib Koité & Bamada, Vusi Mahlasela and Dobet Gnahoré, will be held at The Boulder Theater on 
Sunday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
While Putumayo has presented a variety of world music concerts and CDs, African music has been the heart and soul of its offering. This fall, for an international tour that will travel to more than 40 cities in North America and Europe, Putumayo brought together three of the African continent’s most gifted singer-songwriters.
Habib Koité, one of Africa’s most exciting performers plays music that reflects the diverse musical traditions of his Malian homeland. He has developed a unique guitar style infused with complex rhythms and grooves that has made him a favorite with African music and jam band fans alike. Over the past ten years, Koité and his band, Bamada, have performed over 700 concerts for audiences around the globe. With their fiery stage presence and expert musicianship, Habib Koité and Bamada deliver a show to remember.  
Vusi Mahlasela was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and spent his childhood listening to the elderly men of his village sing traditional songs. After teaching himself to play music on a homemade guitar, he developed a reputation as a gifted singer-songwriter. Among his most ardent supporters is Dave Matthews, who featured Mahlasela’s vocals on the multi-platinum selling album Everyday. Mahlasela’s powerful lyrics and beautiful melodies have made him a leading figure in contemporary South African music. 
Dobet Gnahoré is the youngest and only female artist on the tour. She has animated stages in Africa and Europe with her vibrant performances and powerful vocals. As a child, Gnahoré was trained in the music and dance traditions of the Bété people in her native Ivory Coast by her father Boni Gnahoré, a well-known performer in West Africa. Both her song and lyrics, sung in several African languages, are steeped in the music and culture of her homeland. The Acoustic Africa tour marks her U.S. debut. 
These distinctive and influential singer-songwriters write and perform contemporary music inspired by their cultural roots. Each has made an effort to remain grounded in their region’s musical traditions while being open to external musical influences.
The Acoustic Africa Tour and CD will also provide an opportunity to draw attention to some of Africa’s challenging social issues, in addition to its music. When Koite formed his band, tribal conflicts in Mali had reached a peak prior to the first democratic elections in 1992. Mahlasela’s lyrical message of peace was a beacon of change during South Africa’s formation of a new government, eventually performing for Nelson Mandela’s inauguration in 1994.
At the same time a young Gnahore was studying music and dance in Ki-Yi in the Ivory Coast where social conflict has led to the displacement of thousands in the last decade. Eventually she migrated to France, where her artistic identity continues to evolve.
A portion of Putumayo’s proceeds from the sale of the companion album Acoustic Africa will be donated to help AIDS victims and victims of the civil war in Darfur.
Tickets are $31 reserved and $24.50 general admission. All ages are encouraged to attend.

Creative Music Works Presents Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars will play the Boulder Theater on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. 
With a spirited and infectious fusion of traditional West African music, roots reggae and rhythmic traditional folk, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars craft music that transforms and uplifts. Their songs decry the insanity of war and call out for social justice while instantly compelling you to get on your feet and dance. Having lived through unimaginable tragedy, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars have become an inspiration and a symbol of the healing power of music.
Formed in a refugee camp in the West African nation of Guinea, all of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars’ members lived in or around Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital city, prior to the late 1990s. During a military coup near the turn of the century, rebels attacked the city, forcing a panicked mass exodus to neighboring countries.
It was at Sembakounya Refugee Camp, set deep in the remote Guinean countryside that group leader Reuben Koroma and future band mate Franco (Francis Langba)‚ thanks to a Canadian refugee aid organization‚ were able to acquire the rusted-out sound system and beat- up electric guitars that helped officially launch the group.
At Sembakounya Camp, American documentary filmmakers Banker White and Zach Niles encountered The Refugee All Stars (which now also included Black Nature, Arahim and Mohammed Bangura) and their music. The filmmakers followed the band intermittently for three years as they moved from camp to camp and eventually returned home to face their war torn country and reunite with family, friends and former band-mates, many of whom they had believed did not survive the violence.
It was during this trip that the current line-up of the band was cemented and their life long dream of recording in a studio realized (The group recently released its first CD entitled Living Like A Refugee). Backed by the likes of Keith Richards, Sir Paul McCartney, Ice Cube, Angelina Jolie and Steve Bing‚ the resulting documentary film, “Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars,” has won a series of major awards. Sustaining hope in a landscape dominated by rage and loss is at the core of this heartbreaking, yet life-affirming, story.
Born in the midst of a violent, decade-long civil war, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are testimony to the indomitable human spirit and the transcendent power of music. The messages they deliver are truly universal. Through music, they have found a place of refuge, a sense of purpose and a source of power.
General Admission is $21.50 for those 21 and over.

Editor’s note: For tickets for either event, call 303-786-7030, visit www.bouldertheater.com, or come to the Boulder Theater Box Office.
For more information, call Sarah Coffield at 303-998-9412.