Tinariwen

Tinariwen, a Tuareg collective born in northern Mali, shaped what is called the desert blues, which they themselves call assuf, a Tamasheq word conveying nostalgia and distance. Electric guitars, looping melodic lines, deep voices answering one another: their music links traditional songs, rock and Saharan pulses. Having experienced exile and the Tuareg rebellion of the 1990s, they have brought their repertoire to stages around the world and put Tamasheq culture and language in the spotlight.

On May 8, 2026, Tinariwen will be at the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione in Paris. There you will hear that expansive, stripped-down sound, made of hypnotic riffs, rough-edged choruses and dry rhythms, into which the poetry of the desert, the road and the return home are woven. Without artifice, the group moves on a human scale, faithful to its collective songwriting and to its tightly woven guitar interplay. An evening to measure a movement born under the tent that continues to chart its course on today’s stages.