Tuareg Rock Playlist

Ever since I first heard the band Tinarwien years ago, I’ve been a huge fan of Tuareg rock music, sometimes referred to as “desert blues.”  The Tuareg are a traditionally nomadic, matrilineal people whose homeland, a large area of the Sahara Desert, was disrupted by the post-colonial creation of African nations.  Tuareg rock has its roots in 1980’s Libyan military camps, where the young, dispossessed members of the band Tinarwien developed the style of rock music they called “guitar.” Since then, Tuareg rock has continued to evolve and grow.

“Tuareg guitar has become one of the most popular folk music in the contemporary Sahara. Originally political ballads, created in exile in Libya, today the sound has expanded to encompass everything from introspective love songs, blistering psychedelic rock, and synthesizer and drum machine.” – Sahel Sounds

It’s a dream of mine to attend the Festival of the Desert in Mali, but this festival has been hiatus since 2012 because of security concerns.  In the meantime, please enjoy this playlist of (mostly) Tuareg rock.