Orchestra Baobab

On 26 August 2026 Orchestra Baobab will perform at the Zuiderparktheater in The Hague. The Senegalese collective emerged in the early 1970s in Dakar’s nightclubs as the house band of Club Baobab, with former members of the Star Band. Their music weaves Afro‑Cuban patterns together with Wolof and Manding rhythms and influences from the Lusophone chanson tradition. The result: interlaced guitars, supple horns and vocals in Wolof, Bambara and Creole, rooted in Dakar’s urban dance culture where rumba and orchestral traditions intersect.

After an initial flourishing period until the mid‑1980s, the group paused, then returned to the road around the turn of the century. The rediscovery of Pirate’s Choice opened the door to new chapters; Specialist in All Styles (2002) was recorded with contributions from Youssou N’Dour and Ibrahim Ferrer. With Made in Dakar (2007) and Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng (2017) the band reaffirmed its focus on live performance and on a repertoire that has grown over the years.

Live, Orchestra Baobab shifts between rumba‑like grooves, melodic boleros and danceable, relaxed swing. In The Hague they will present early favorites alongside later pieces, leaving room for a dialogue between guitars and horns and for multi‑part vocals that slowly build the performance’s arc of tension. An evening in which Dakar and Havana draw close—a fitting match for an open‑air atmosphere where listening and movement naturally go hand in hand.