Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”, Vieux FarkaToure is all set to now mesmerize Mumbai. Come 10^th December 2014 and the Malian singer – guitarist will perform at a venue in Mumbai city.

Vieux FarkaToure is one of the poster boys of ‘World Music’ and is known to dazzle crowds with his speed and dexterity on the guitar and his evocative lyrics that transcend his audience into flights of fiery blues.

In June 2010, Vieux FarkaToure performed at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa which gave him a platform through which his music could be heard and appreciated by the world audience at large.

Vieux FarkaToure was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali FarkaToure, who died in 2006. 
Ali FarkaTouré came from a historical tribe of soldiers, and defied his parents in becoming a musician. When Vieux was in his teens, he declared that he also wanted to be a musician. His father disapproved due to the pressures he had experienced being a musician. Rather, he wanted Vieux to become a soldier. But with help from family friend the kora maestro ToumaniDiabaté, Vieux eventually convinced his father to give him his blessing to become a musician shortly before Ali passed.

Vieux was initially a drummer / calabash player at Mali’s Institut National des Arts, but secretly began playing guitar in 2001. Ali FarkaTouré was weakened with cancer when Vieux announced that he was going to record an album. Ali recorded a couple of tracks with him, and these recordings, which can be heard on Vieux’s debut CD, were amongst his final ones. It has been said that the senior Touré played rough mixes of these songs when people visited him in his final days, at peace with, and proud of, his son’s talent as a musician.

Vieux FarkaToure has also played with Israeli superstar IdanRaichel for an album The Tel Aviv Session (2012) that has been hailed by fans and critics alike as a masterpiece and one of the best collaborative albums in the history of international music, drawing comparisons to Ali FarkaToure and RyCooder’s legendary Talking Timbuktu album.

In 2013, Vieux FarkaTouré’s beautiful and critically acclaimed fifth album Mon Pays which was released as an homage to his homeland.  Being that his native Mali had recently been splintered by territorial fighting between Tuareg and Islamic rebels since January 2012, Mon Pays was devoted to reminding the world about the beauty and culture of his native Mali. Translated as ‘My Country,’ this predominantly acoustic undertaking transformed into an artifact of cultural preservation. Two songs on the project -Future’ and ‘Peace’ feature SidikiDiabate’skora leading an emotional charge complemented by Touré’s spectacular guitar work. Both tracks represent an important generational “passing of the torch” as Sidiki’s father, Toumani is considered one of the greatest living kora masters and was a close friend of Vieux’s father Ali. Mon Pays has been widely hailed as the most mature and lovely record yet from one of this generation’s most exciting artists to come out of Mali and one of world music’s true rising stars.

Vieux would be performing in Mumbai as a part of the 5 city tour of upscale menswear brand Blackberrys’ annual flagship event – “Sharp Nights – Masters of World Music”. The Mumbai based Indo-Jazz music band Rajeev Raja Combine will also be performing.

Lastly a charity auction of Blackberry’s Autumn Winter 2014 Collection would close the evening.