Event

The Nile Project

Take a musical voyage down the world's longest river! Discover the unsung beauty of East African traditions as musicians from the 11 African nations that border the Nile join together for this unprecedented, cross-cultural collaboration. Different languages, genres, instruments and dances connected by one body of water, and for one nightone stage.

Egyptian and Ethiopian artists have mastered each others' wildly different modal systems. A Burundian bassist has become the foundation within head-spinning Ugandan rhythms. Instruments that parted ways millennia before are reunited and pushed into new tunings, new places. Love songs and lullabies have crossed geographical and linguistic barriers to forge new songs. A pan-Nile percussion section drives an orchestra of Ethiopian masenko and sax, Egyptian oud, ney, simsimiya and tambura, Sudanese harps, Burundian thumb pianos, Ugandan adungu and endigidiplus six vocalists sing in eleven languages.

The result is a new sound of a shared Nile identitya sound that has won the collective's debut album, Aswan, the accolades of one of NPR's "Must Hear International Albums" and Songlines "Top of the World" collection.

The concert will be preceded by a free performance by National Water Dance at 5pm on the beach behind the Bandshell.

*discount for MDC STUDENTS: $10 tickets w/code: GlobalCitizen (must show valid ID at Will Call)

*discount for MDC FACULTY & STAFF: $20 tickets w/code: NileLessons (must show valid ID at Will Call)