North African rebel rockers Tinariwen played in Vancouver in 2010 (see their North Shore News interview by CLICKING HERE) but last year the Canadian government denied them travel visas and the band had to cancel their scheduled gig at the Vancouver International Folk Festival. This year Tinariwen, made up of nomadic Tuareg who have always found borders problematic, decided to avoid Canadian gatekeepers altogether and will get no closer to us than Seattle next week where they are playing the Showbox on Tuesday, June 12. The trip south is more than worth it to check out the desert blues of this brilliant band who won a Grammy last year for their Anti- Records release Tassili.
John Goodman
