Global roots

...a horn-driven big band with vocalists who can scream or croon, as its music slyly adds even more layers of rhythm — many drawn from voodoo — to the Afrobeat and Latin-influenced funk of its neighbors, brilliantly raising the contrapuntal ante. (Top 10 Pop Albums of 2011, Jon Pareles, New York Times)

This is music for the people, people who want to dance to this raw mix of horns, guitar, organ on a driving bedrock of bass and drums. It’s amazing where all this brilliant music keeps coming from but you end up wondering how you’ve not come across it before (Graham Radley, worldmusic.co.uk)

The legendary voodoo funk band Orchestre Poly-Rythmo fires up the Cedar with their unique blast of psychedelic guitar riffs, unreal organ harmonies, funk and soul.

The Cedar is now air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

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Known by some as the "Queen of Mbalax," Viviane N'Dour has rapidly moved from being a backing vocalist in her former brother-in-law Youssou N'Dour's band to one of Senegal's most cherished musical treasures in her own right. By combining popular Western music and dance forms such as rhythm and blues, jazz, soul, Latin, and rock with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal, Viviane and her full band will have you on your foot and moving to the irresistable grooves.

The Cedar is now air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

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There'll be Firewater in the house tonight, as the collective brings the music from their new album International Orange! to the Cedar's dancefloor. On the album, high-energy Turkish percussion drives jagged guitars and horns on eleven anthems of frustration and hope, movement and transformation. The songs tap into grooves as disparate as Turkish maqsoum, Punjabi bhangra, Jamaican ska, Greek rebetiko, classic punk and old-school mambo. Muskat’s mixing aesthetic draws on everything from the Bollywood excess of ‘60s-era R.D. Burman to the early dub experiments of King Tubby. The new work was produced by Tod A and mixed by Tamir Muskat of Balkan Beat Box…not to be missed!

The Cedar is now air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

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Summer starts early tonight with the return of Sierra Leone's Refugee Allstars, and their joyful, upbeat music rooted in old school reggae, funky African grooves and deep tribal chants drawn from their brilliant new album Radio Salone (April 24, Cumbancha) and their earlier gems Living Like a Refugee and Rise & Shine.

The Cedar is now air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

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The Cedar welcomes back some old friends: the incredible Tuvan throat-singing quartet Huun Huur Tu! Otherworldly, beautiful music to transport you to another time and place.

The Cedar is now air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info

• On sale date: noon Fri Apr 27
• Phone: 612-338-2674 ext 2 ($2 fee per ticket)
• In person: From a Cedar volunteer in the front lobby during events (no fee; cash, check, credit card), Depth of Field (no fee; cash or check only), or Electric Fetus (small fee)
• Online: Ticketweb (fees apply) (click on red Buy Tickets button at top of this page)
• All Cedar shows are all ages.
• Students with ID may purchase tickets at a discount at the door.

World-beat grooves combined with elements of modern and traditional jazz, latin rhythms, Caribbean and Middle Eastern sounds: good music outside on the Cedar patio in the heart of the internationally-oriented West Bank.

What he played did as much to form my music as my writing those songs...This is one of the great slide players of all time. (Jackson Browne, Rolling Stone 5/27/10)

With a career spanning three decades, Johnny Clegg pioneered a new, unique sound combining Western rock with Zulu rhythms and became one of South Africa’s most prolific musicians and an international superstar. He has sold over five million albums of his brand of crossover music worldwide and wowed vast audiences with his audacious live shows and won national and international awards for his outspoken views on apartheid, his perspectives on migrant workers in South Africa.

Known for his lively, energetic stage performances, the Johnny Clegg Band returns to The Cedar after a stellar performance last year.

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info

Brazilian percussionist, singer and bandleader Dendê live in concert at the Cedar, with his band for a night of Brazilian afro-funk and grooves.

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info

• On sale date: noon Fri Mar 9
• Phone: 612-338-2674 ext 2 ($2 fee per ticket)
• In person: From a Cedar volunteer in the front lobby during events (no fee; cash, check, credit card), Depth of Field (no fee; cash or check only), or Electric Fetus (small fee)
• Online: Ticketweb (fees apply) (click on red Buy Tickets button at top of this page)
• All Cedar shows are all ages.
• Students with ID may purchase tickets at a discount at the door.

Yemen Blues is a nine-member Sephardic music ensemble, which has recently taken the international music scene by storm. Founded by Israeli bassist Omer Avital and Israeli-Yemenite singer Ravid Kahalani, this band is an original and fascinating synergy of traditional Yemenite melodies and the world of blues, jazz and funk. Flavors of its West African roots swirl through enhanced modern compositions to create a breathtaking experience—a mixture of beautiful, complex grooves with an amazing live energy. Yemen Blues has captivated audiences around the globe. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience Yemen Blues in their first Twin Cities appearance.

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info Read more »