Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na Appearing at the Music Hall in July

PORTSMOUTH, NH - Mamadou Kelly may be one of contemporary African music’s best kept secrets. A guitar prodigy from Niafunke in the heartland of Mali's Niger River Delta, Mamadou made his bones accompanying greats like Ali Farka Toure and Afel Boucum.

Today he is an undisputed master of Malian blues and leads his own band of musical heavyweights, Ban Kai Na.

Event information submitted by Tom Pryor

Ban Kai Na features colleagues from both Ali Farka Toure's and Afel Boucom’s bands. Calabash player "Hama" Sankare can be heard on many of Ali Farka Toure’s classic albums, from 1994’s Talking Timbuktu all the up to 2006’s Savane, and Brehima ”Youro” Cisse’s djourkel (a monochord “mandolin”) can be heard alongside Mamadou himself on Savane. These guys also make up Alkibar, the band that accompanies Afel Bocoum. This core of veterans is rounded out by the gifted Baba Traore on bass and Ibrahim Nabo on guitar.

Together they keep the faith of Toure’s legacy and share his commitment to keeping the music contemporary. On this tour they are scheduled to performing or recording with such diverse talents as reggae artists Soul Syndicate, slide guitar genius Cindy Cashdollar, young indie rockers Last Good Tooth and jazz keyboardist John Medeski, among others.

Veterans of Mali’s storied Festival au Désert — where Mamadou and his colleagues have made multiple appearances — Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na last toured North America in 2013, as part of the Festival au Désert - Caravan for Peace Tour. With two critically acclaimed albums under their belt, Mamadou Kelly brings his Sahelian soul to U.S. stages this summer.

Mamadou’s ascent as a solo artist has been rapid. He released his critically-acclaimed solo debut, ADIBAR, in 2013. World Music Central praised the album as “outstanding”, while Jazz Weekly hailed it as “The real roots of American blues and jazz”. Kelly and Ban Kai Na continued to build on their success with Djamila, their second album released in October 2015. DJAMILA was named Top of the World by Songlines Magazine #112, where Mark Sinnock called Mamadou an "incredibly accomplished guitarist ... a fine singer,” and hailed Djamila as “profoundly moving music". While Afropop Worldwide’s Banning Eyre wrote: “Soulful grooves, brilliant playing and arranging, and a vibe that just won’t let go”

Now Kelly offers American audiences a rare opportunity to catch this legend-in-the-making live with a major U.S. tour in July and August, with stops at Joe’s Pub in NYC, the Echoplex in LA, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and 16 other venues in between. Full tour itinerary below and on Kelly's facebook events page.

This Spring, Kelly has been performing in Europe and Morocco with Afel Bocoum, and he’s anxious to stretch out with his own band. "All of us are excited to be coming again to America to perform. I have only one request for myself: A seat on the plane that has enough room for my long legs!"

Mamadou Kelly and Ban Kai Na will be performing in Portsmouth at the Music Hall on July 22.