Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: Al Bilali Soudan, Kiran Ahluwalia, Tufan Derince

 

By Bob Boilen, NPR Music

For the second consecutive year, NPR teams up with globalFEST for a thrilling online music festival we call Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: three nights, nine bands, and a world of musical traditions beamed into your living room.

Every January, I attend globalFEST at a New York City nightclub and see some of the most fantastic music I’ll experience all year. Not being able to do this live and in person again is a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity: Leaving the nightclub for the desktop lets us share this festival with the world. And … IT’S FREE!

For each of the three nights, Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST will present artists in intimate settings (often behind their own globe-topped tiny desks), some of whom are making their globalFEST debuts, while a few others are notable past performers.

It’s all hosted by African pop star and four-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo. She is one of the greatest artists in international music today, a creative force with 13 albums to her name. She also performed at the inaugural edition of globalFEST in 2004.

Performers in this video include Al Bilali Soudan, Kiran Ahluwalia, and Tufan Derince.