Weave presents Adama Bilorou Dembele at Rolling Bay Hall

Published 8:30 am Friday, March 1, 2019

Weave — a new nonprofit performing arts and education organization headquartered on Bainbridge Island — will host world-renowned West African musician, composer, arranger, teacher and choreographer Adama Bilorou Dembele at Rolling Bay Hall for a two-day combined playbill of a concert and workshops.

Originally from Burkina Faso, he hails from a lineage of griots (a class of traveling musicians, storytellers and poets) who preserve the oral traditions of their culture.

As a multi-instrumentalist, Dembele composes and performs an explosive melange of musical genres inspired by his native culture, Bwaba, and infused with sounds from Europe and beyond.

From street jazz to afro-funk to Mandingue melodies and rhythms, his rich grooves explore the fusion between ancestral and contemporary musical expressions, his exploration brings together classical, modern and traditional instruments such as the balafon, djembe, kora, dundun and talking drum, among others.

Dembele has played with Carlos Santana, Manu Dibango, Marcus Miller, Ibraham Malouf, Chieck Tidian Sec, Amadou & Mariam, Salif Keita, Omo Sangare, Alpha Blondi and many more artists from around the world. He performs and leads workshops across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

His latest album, “Ananide,” is available at www.adamabilorou.com.

During his Bainbridge trip, Dembele will first perform a special one-night-only concert at 7:30 p.m. at Rolling Bay Hall on Saturday, March 2.

Doors open at 6:30, and all ages are welcome. Visit www.weavepresents.org to learn more and purchase tickets.

Then, on Sunday, March 3, Dembele will host two workshops.

From 12 to 1:30 p.m., he will teach an all-levels percussion workshop. Bring your own drum. Dancers are welcome.

Then, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., he will host an all instruments workshop for musicians of all experience levels hoping to learn West African grooves. Vocalists and, again, dancers are welcome.

Ticket info is available at www.adamabilorou.com.