Malawi groove music
Madalitso Band is a duo from Malawi who performs utterly infectious music with unconventional homemade instruments: a 4-string acoustic guitar and foot drum, and a long-necked, banjo-like, one-stringed instrument called a babatone. The pair played on the streets of their home-town Lilongwe for a decade before being discovered by a local producer; they recorded their first album in 2009, and word-of-mouth eventually secured them a performance at Zanzibar’s famous Sauti Za Busara festival in 2017. Six months later, the musicians boarded an airplane for the first time in their lives, heading for their first European tour. Since then, they have introduced audiences around the world to Malawian grooves. “While key shifts are few, dynamics, subtleties, and variety seem endless. And their vocal harmonies are like choruses” (rootsworld.com). Sponsored by IU African Studies Program
Friday, Sept. 29 First Christian Church
Saturday, Sept. 30 Trinity Episcopal Church 4th Street Stage