Tinariwen

The eagerly awaited return by the guitar-toting former Touareg rebels, and the hottest desert blues act on the planet. Their tiny Cedar stop is sandwiched in between high-profile gigs at Bonnaroo, Hollywood Bowl, Millennium Park, and Central Park, and a couple of weeks before the band plays some big European festivals including Roskilde. Tinariwen continue to rock with their fourth album Imidiwan: Companions, which possesses all the elements that have made them so magnetic to Western ears: raw simplicity, melodic beauty, songs ranging from the epic and universal to the intimate and personal. The album won Tinariwen Uncut's Music Award 2009, beating out  some very stiff competition from Kings of Leon, Bob Dylan, Wilco, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear and The Low Anthem to be crowned the most inspirational and rewarding album of 2009.

Tickets go on sale at noon Fri Mar 26 from the Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Cedar outlets, and online at Ticketweb.

Tinariwen

Tinariwen are often associated with just one image: that of Touareg rebels leading the charge, machine gun in hand and electric guitar slung over the shoulder. The band ditch this cliché on their fifth album ‘Tassili’ and it’s for the best. The founding...