Baaba Maal

My husband is from Guinea-Bissau and was thrilled to see Baaba Maal in person. Baaba Maal even said he would visit Guinea-Bissau in the future! Baaba Maal shared stories from his life and what inspires his music. It was a great evening!

Show started off with a sort of personal interview of Baab Maal where we learned of his history, how he got into the music business and ended with an introduction of his latest release. From there things took off with the crowd getting up to dance (some even on stage) and clapping along to his songs. Very much a fun time!

They were all great, particularly Baaba Maal and Yeasayer!

One of the best concerts I've been to. Up there with Mickey Heart Planet Drum. The band exudes soul, peace and unbelievable rhythm. Baaba Maal's music makes you move - there is no way to sit and listen. If makes you dance!

My parents bought us tickets for my husband's 40 Birthday. My husband had already seen Maal once before and assured me it would be an experience I never forget. He was right! The language barrier was irrelevant. The music was so pure, so profound, so moving, you could feel it in your bones. The music is primal, soulful, and all around breathtaking! The entire audience in Royce Hall at UCLA was up and dancing all over the place. I cannot stress enough that this was almost a spiritual awakening for me. I highly recommend Maal's band. If more people knew of his music and experienced his show live, this world would be a better place!

Absolutely fantastic. Baaba Maal has a fantastic voice and the band is awesome. He shares the spotlight with the other musicians. The public was not very young but by the 4th song, the whole hall was on their feet dancing.

Obviously a talented band but they should rehearse before starting a tour. What a drag to have paid top dollar to see a group that doesn't know the songs.

Excellent show. Like the narration from artist. Presentation of Senegal. He explained his song in goog english before he started. May you feel and understand what he was saying even though it was in a different dialect.

SUCH A SHOW OF PASSION AND LOVE FOR HIS AFRICA AND THE INTERESTED WORLD.....WARM IS COOL....peace

great vibes - terrific show! I would see it again.

Nice job from Fools Gold in their Pan African effort. Tinariwen was spectacular as was Baaba Maal but I missed the dancers that often accompany Baaba Maal...it brings another level of excitement. Yeasayer was ok but Playing for Change was kinda lame and it didnt make sense to have them join Maal...the real deal!

GREAT concert, always love the Hollywood Bowl venue. Had seats in bleachers this time - only problem was "drinking college kids" too loud so we moved down a few seats. Warm up bands were AWESOME, especially Yeasayer from Manhatten.. will definately go out & buy their CD!

sure is nice going to the hollywood bowl on a warm beginning of summer night. i think there were 5 bands total. only baaba maal and yeasayer were any good.

Ever since acquiring Baaba Maal's CD Firin' in Fouta in 1994 I doubted I would ever have the opportunity to hear him live. I was not disappointed. It was magical, especially in a place like the Bowl. The only drawback is that there are seats, which limits dancing and moving to the wonderful rhythms. My guest was thrilled to hear Tinariwen again. She had heard them in Mali at the Festival au Desert. I bought a few of their tracks recently, but now that I have heard them live I will be buying more.

Do yourself a favor and get to one of the Sunday World Music nights this summer @ The Bowl. I have been doing this for years, and they never disappoint. All shows are part of the Bowl's Summer Series, meaning you can bring your own wine and favorite picnic items (just make sure your cooler is small enough to stow UNDER the bench, it gets a bit tight). In the infamous words of Yoda, "There is no TRY, only DO".

Yeasayer was COMPLETELY out of place in this line-up and brought the whole crowd's energy down. It went from everyone standing up and dancing and having fun during Fool's Gold and Tinariwen, to sitting down and looking sad and confused during Yeasayer. Luckliy Baaba Maal brought it back in the end. It was also an insult to Tinariwen to basically open for Yeasayer. Tinariwen have been playing for 30 years, were rebel fighters in Mali fighting for freedom, singing about real emotions and deep messages, and to be followed by some new york julliard trust fund group with synthesizers was ridiculous. My 2 cents. Great show overall. Super fun, great energy, dancing in the isles, etc.

Playing For Change was the best act of the night but unfortunately TOO short!!

Great music and venue! Our first time at the bowl.

This event was something the entire family could enjoy. We have young adult and teenage kids. The venue is beautiful and the seats were fine.

Concert was amazing. Was there mainly for Yeasayer, so that's what I'm reviewing. One of those rare bands that can move any type of venue, and the H. Bowl was no exception. A great performance. One star off for some of the other bands, and the short set-list.

I SAW BAABA MAAL & DAANDE LENOL IN CHICAGO ON 4/9/10 AND I HAD TO SEE HE AND HIS BAND AGAIN BEFORE THE U.S. TOUR 2010 ENDED. I'M TRULY A HUGE FAN AND THE PERFORMACE LAST NIGHT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. BAABA'S VOICE IS TRULY A GIFT FROM GOD. HE AND THE BAND ARE EXTREMELY TALENTED AND AMAZING!!! HIS VOICE IS SO MELODIC AND THE WAY HE ENJOYS HIS FANS , I'M TRULY A HUGE FAN I ONLY WISH HE AND THE BAND TOURED THE U.S. MORE!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE COME BACK TO THE STATES WE LOVE YOU AND THE BAND! THANK YOU FOR GIVING M. SECK A SOLO HE'S ALSO A GREAT PERFORMER.

I had always wanted to see Baaba Maal (like since listening to him more than 10 years ago!). He blew me away, his presence, his band, the sound, the crowd, everything was better than I imagined. I just wish he'd started earlier! The two hours of some dj standing on stage doing nothing but playing tunes with no sense of when the show might start was weird, and it was 2 hours! But Baaba Maal proved why he is one of the greatest ever

Great show. Full of life and spirit and audience participation. Only problem was that folks were standing in front of some folks who really couldn't or didn't want to stand up for the whole show. Dancers should be encourage to use the aisles.

Fabulous show! Very talented muscians especially the talking drum and djembe/percussion drummers

His passion and energy are contagious! Loved it! Loved seeing him with so many Senegalese fans in the audience.

I have only been listening to Baaba Maal for a few months, and I'm glad I decided to go I was not disappointed, can't wait until the next concert!

very disappointed about the show; sounded nothing like the CD. It was a total mess on stage; it felt like a jam with a bad sound system! Thank God Baabal Maal's voice is amazing. He needs a musical director on stage.

The music was fabulous but being in a theater I expected to see the event (we were on the fourth row), but everybody stood up to dance, not a their seats, but walked to the front and could not see it, just hear it. My back is hurting so much that I could just stand for little time. That is the reason I do not go to clubs. I would have enjoyed it much more if everybody stayed sitted. I know the music compels to dancing, but if that is so, this is not the right venue for this type of music.

Lively, energizing, inspiring. There's no way not to dance!

A voice like no other, magnetic, hypnotic and with the polyrhythmic music of Senegal and Mali, irresistible. Baaba Mal has been a creative force for so long, he is now a statesman of the music, a instructor, a teacher. And that night we all wanted to be taught anything he wanted to convey. The music was intense. It has power and carries its own context. Even though the experience in the sterile auditorium was not as it would have been at a fireside outside of Dakar, it still stood on its own. It is perhaps too bad that Maal interrupted the flow so often to explain things to us, ignorant seeming, DC crowd. There was no need. But such a showman! He is still as sexy as ever, but now seems more like a mature family man. So many people climbed on stage to dance, dozens a few at a time and he danced with all of them. Lots of kids and old folks, too. I had seen him perform in Paris almost 10 years ago and it was a different experience, less inviting, less happy, more intimate and more thrilling. However, DC is not Paris and Maal is not as he was those years ago. the flavor has changed but the meat is still good.

As an explorer of world music, I have indeed gravitated to love and place supreme "African Music;" so I may have my bias. With that said, Baaba Maal will go down in my books as a show to remember. While I will always cherish being exposed to the collective, musical energy that persisted throughout the event, the memory of seeing 50-70 audience members on stage, dancing and partying with the band is what will sit strongly. There was young, old, black, white, asian, fat, skinny, the pretty and the ugly, and they were all grooving in unbridled celebration. It was the band members that welcomed the audience to come up and share the stage with them. Getting down to it, regarding the music, I was indeed just blown away with a level of percussive rhythms that went beyond my anticipations. Watching the young, tall percussion player, and listening to such a pure rhythm that could only come from a live performance. And may I note that the world of music is so full of "over produced, over machined, synthetic sounds, and this is why you go to a Baaba Maal concert. These rhythms come from the cradle of humanity, and no machine has the respect or talent worthy of coming close. Baaba Maal's vocals were much greater than what I had heard on his recordings. His presence (and his band members) was Holy. He had no pretence, yet conveyed his shear joy of just being with us and being able to deliver the spirit through his performance. The small venue was perfect, the crowd was delightful !!!! SEE BAABA MAAL!!!!!!

I'm always drawn to handsome guys with amazing voices. It was a lot of fun.

Baaba Maal's show at the Lisner Auditorium in DC on April 29, 2010 was terrific. The music was great and had the entire audience on its feet dancing from about the third song until the end of the evening. Seeing Maal and his eight piece band, the Dakar Eight, is not only a concert, it's a cultural event. One gets a little peak into Africa. Seeing him in DC is also a community event. Audience members kept going on stage, sprinkling the band with dollar bills and dancing. Old people, children, and everyone in between went on stage, including hipsters, and several Africans in traditional African wraps that were as colorful as they were beautiful. The concert was both to be listened to and participated in.

Wonderful show....very interactive......the audience was able to get up on stage and dance to lively African music,sing along with and touch the singer. The lyrics were thoughtful, inspiring and uplifting. He was called back for several encores by a very enthuiastic audience. You certainly got your money's worth and then some. Went to work the next day smiling and singing. I'm going back to see Salif Keita in June........bring more acts like that to Baltimore...we need more culture!

The concert was incredible. It was a spiritual, musical, rhythmic delight, adventure, and journey. I danced all night in the aisles on the stage and on the streets. I was lifted to the continent of Africa, traveling through the beautiful villages of the bush country. We meet the African continent and African women, children and men under stars in the sky so close Baaba says it seem you can put them in your hand. If you have never heard African music before, I recommend starting with Baaba Maal. He has a repertoire of both traditional and western music, songs and performance styles. He is griot/historian: storyteller, musician, composer and performer. He is an ambassador for Africa s children, for peace and for education.

I have seen him live before in concert but last night was exceptional. The show was fast moving. The energy and enthusiasm of the audience never was present throughout the concert. People were up on their feet clapping after the first couple of songs. People were dancing on stage with Baaba and his group and also dancing in the aisles. Everyone obviously was having a fabulous time. My one complaint is with Lisner. I sat in the Orchestra section and after the show had already began -- I had to stand up and walk out into the aisle THREE times to let late comers get to their seats. I told the usher the third time that "This is ridiculous. Once the concert starts -- they should not let the late comers find their seats until after an artist has finished his/her song.

Wonderful performance. Great music. Everyone had a super time. "They were dancing in the aisles" not to mention the stage too

It was a great show. Whole public standing up. Baaba Maal is a creator of beauty.

Baaba Maal has great stage presence, he sings with a lot of energy and his band is fantastic! I really appreciated the atmosphere he created within the audience. Everyone was energized and participated by clapping and dancing. I love the custom of offering money to the musicians.(that is different from our culture) Their choice of songs was wonderful and their clothing very sophisticated and attractive. I highly recommend this performer.

They brought Africa to us with the sights (beautiful clothing) and sounds including the wonderful African guitar, djebe drums, dondon drums and singing and dancing. It was a fantastic array of traditional songs, modern, tributes to Mali our culture and traditions and world songs for World Peace. And we always enjoy the audience on stage and the children who seem to be apart of the band after multiple appearances on the stage. And the special treat was hanging with my community at the reception. It was like a wonderful Pan African family reunion....Mzuri