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Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter Announce North American Tour

By Claire Shaffer

Claire Shaffer

Indie rock mainstays Deerhunter and Dirty Projectors will co-headline a North American tour.

Dirty Projectors will play a string of shows in May and June, in support of their 2018 album Lamp Lit Prose . They’ll then perform with Deerhunter, starting at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Palladium in July and ending at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club in September, with stops in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, DC and New York.

Deerhunter released their latest album  Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? earlier this year. Speaking to  Rolling Stone in January , frontman Bradford Cox cited David Bowie’s influence on Why Has Everything and shared some of his favorites books, such as Aldous Huxley’s  Music at Night and the French novel Á Rebours (Against Nature) . “I always wanted books growing up, and I couldn’t have them,” said Cox. “As you can see, I’m overcompensating.”

Dirty Projectors/Deerhunter Tour Dates

May 25 – Hudson, NY @ Hudson Hall May 26 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom June 5 – Peterborough, NH @ The Thing In The Spring (Dirty Projectors only) July 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium July 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic July 19 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater July 20 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo Sept 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse Sept 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Sept 8 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Sept 10 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall Sept 13 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

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Dirty Projectors tour dates 2024

Dirty Projectors is currently touring across 1 country and has 1 upcoming concert.

The final concert of the tour will be at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam.

Currently touring across

• 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Upcoming concerts (1) See nearest concert

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ

Past concerts

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Mississippi Studios

Tractor Tavern

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Recent tour reviews

Dirty Projectors were recommended to me by a friend with questionable taste, so I naturally steered well clear for a considerable amount of time. However, I happened to stumble across them at Glastonbury Festival in 2010: they played on Sunday at the Park Stage and right then and there I had to admit defeat. They were delightful… a sure-cure for any weary festivalgoer suffering on the final day of a raucous weekend. Jangly guitars and steady beats accompanied by strong lead vocals and carefully timed harmonies really lift your spirits and get you grooving to their original and somewhat indefinable sound. For this set they played songs spanning their whole discography (at the time they had released an impressive six albums since 2002!) but with a main focus on 2009’s ‘Bitte Orca’. Stand out songs included what I later discovered to be a collaboration with David Byrne of Talking Heads named “Knotty Pine” and the intro to “Stillness is the move.” Aside from seeing Dirty Projectors live, an exploration of their past albums proved their talent for me. Then, 2012’s ‘Swing Low Magellan’ cemented my newfound love for the band further with infectious tracks such as, “About to Die” with its teasing, twinkling melodies and rambling drum rhythms and “The Socialites,” which showcases Amber Coffman’s vocals effortlessly. It’s safe to say I will definitely be attending Dirty Projectors gigs in the future, as well as putting more trust in my friend’s “questionable” taste in music. Lesson learned.

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The first thing that strikes you about Dirty Projectors, now in their twelfth year of existence and 7 albums in, is what you might call the ‘cerebral’ aspect of their music, and the consummate musicianship they all have to play that all live. David Longstreth, guitarist and bandleader, often gets described as some kind of geeky music theory enthusiast (which he may well be) and his music as complex albeit enjoyable high concept stuff. Granted, it may not be easy to clap along or dance to, but not everything has to be! There’s more than enough to savour in the sheer tightness and punchiness of the band’s groove, the intoxicating three part harmonies sung by Amber Coffman, Haley Dekle, and Olga Bell, and that undeniable streak of African highlife which runs through so much of their work. Indeed throughout their live set, the shadow of Talking Heads looms large at times, but it’s clear Dirty Projectors have a broad range of influences. The highlight of the show comes when they get stuck into Beautiful Mother, with its show-stopping vocal syncopations shared between the girls and its dramatic breaks, which probably got the greatest applause of all. Not to be missed!

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Dirty Projectors & Deerhunter Announce Co-Headlining North American Tour

Both bands will also have a string of solo dates

Indie bands Dirty Projectors and Deerhunter have announced a co-headlining tour launching in July. 

The tour will kick off at Los Angeles' Palladium on July 17, head to Portland, Ore., Atlanta, Washington and other cities, before hitting its last stop in Boston's Paradise Rock Club on Sept. 13. Both bands will also have a string of solo dates. 

“We’re excited to announce a few new headline shows as well as a co-headline run with our friends @dirtyprojectors !"  Deerhunter tweeted . 

Tickets will be available Friday at 10 a.m. For more information on tickets, visit the Bandsintown website . 

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly . Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly .

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube . This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg , Doggystyle . This is for Illmatic , this is for Nas . We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal , Anna Wise and Thundercat ). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift 's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN ., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers .

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Photo:  Rachel Kupfer  

A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea

James Brown changed the sound of popular music when he found the power of the one and unleashed the funk with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Today, funk lives on in many forms, including these exciting bands from across the world.

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown . The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton , who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic , psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic . Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis , Silk Sonic , and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar , Flying Lotus , and Thundercat , respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels , while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa , Doja Cat , and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic . There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin ’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music , Amazon Music and Pandora .

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism . Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and " Norma " is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers , from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea 's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’ s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight ’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat .

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo , is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody 's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether .

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Living Legends: Billy Idol On Survival, Revival & Breaking Out Of The Cage

"One foot in the past and one foot into the future," Billy Idol says, describing his decade-spanning career in rock. "We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol."

Living Legends is a series that spotlights icons in music still going strong today. This week, GRAMMY.com spoke with Billy Idol about his latest EP,   Cage , and continuing to rock through decades of changing tastes.

Billy Idol is a true rock 'n' roll survivor who has persevered through cultural shifts and personal struggles. While some may think of Idol solely for "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding," the singer's musical influences span genres and many of his tunes are less turbo-charged than his '80s hits would belie.  

Idol first made a splash in the latter half of the '70s with the British punk band Generation X. In the '80s, he went on to a solo career combining rock, pop, and punk into a distinct sound that transformed him and his musical partner, guitarist Steve Stevens, into icons. They have racked up multiple GRAMMY nominations, in addition to one gold, one double platinum, and four platinum albums thanks to hits like "Cradle Of Love," "Flesh For Fantasy," and "Eyes Without A Face." 

But, unlike many legacy artists, Idol is anything but a relic. Billy continues to produce vital Idol music by collaborating with producers and songwriters — including Miley Cyrus — who share his forward-thinking vision. He will play a five-show Vegas residency in November, and filmmaker Jonas Akerlund is working on a documentary about Idol’s life. 

His latest release is Cage , the second in a trilogy of annual four-song EPs. The title track is a classic Billy Idol banger expressing the desire to free himself from personal constraints and live a better life. Other tracks on Cage incorporate metallic riffing and funky R&B grooves. 

Idol continues to reckon with his demons — they both grappled with addiction during the '80s — and the singer is open about those struggles on the record and the page. (Idol's 2014 memoir Dancing With Myself , details a 1990 motorcycle accident that nearly claimed a leg, and how becoming a father steered him to reject hard drugs. "Bitter Taste," from his last EP, The Roadside , reflects on surviving the accident.)

Although Idol and Stevens split in the late '80s — the skilled guitarist fronted Steve Stevens & The Atomic Playboys, and collaborated with Michael Jackson, Rick Ocasek, Vince Neil, and Harold Faltermeyer (on the GRAMMY-winning "Top Gun Anthem") —  their common history and shared musical bond has been undeniable. The duo reunited in 2001 for an episode of " VH1 Storytellers " and have been back in the saddle for two decades. Their union remains one of the strongest collaborations in rock 'n roll history.

While there is recognizable personnel and a distinguishable sound throughout a lot of his work, Billy Idol has always pushed himself to try different things. Idol discusses his musical journey, his desire to constantly move forward, and the strong connection that he shares with Stevens. 

Steve has said that you like to mix up a variety of styles, yet everyone assumes you're the "Rebel Yell"/"White Wedding" guy. But if they really listen to your catalog, it's vastly different.

Yeah, that's right. With someone like Steve Stevens, and then back in the day Keith Forsey producing... [Before that] Generation X actually did move around inside punk rock. We didn't stay doing just the Ramones two-minute music. We actually did a seven-minute song. [ Laughs ]. We did always mix things up. 

Then when I got into my solo career, that was the fun of it. With someone like Steve, I knew what he could do. I could see whatever we needed to do, we could nail it. The world was my oyster musically. 

"Cage" is a classic-sounding Billy Idol rocker, then "Running From The Ghost" is almost metal, like what the Devil's Playground album was like back in the mid-2000s. "Miss Nobody" comes out of nowhere with this pop/R&B flavor. What inspired that?

We really hadn't done anything like that since something like "Flesh For Fantasy" [which] had a bit of an R&B thing about it. Back in the early days of Billy Idol, "Hot In The City" and "Mony Mony" had girls [singing] on the backgrounds. 

We always had a bit of R&B really, so it was actually fun to revisit that. We just hadn't done anything really quite like that for a long time. That was one of the reasons to work with someone like Sam Hollander [for the song "Rita Hayworth"] on The Roadside . We knew we could go [with him] into an R&B world, and he's a great songwriter and producer. That's the fun of music really, trying out these things and seeing if you can make them stick. 

I listen to new music by veteran artists and debate that with some people. I'm sure you have those fans that want their nostalgia, and then there are some people who will embrace the newer stuff. Do you find it’s a challenge to reach people with new songs?

Obviously, what we're looking for is, how do we somehow have one foot in the past and one foot into the future? We’ve got the best of all possible worlds because that has been the modus operandi of Billy Idol. 

You want to do things that are true to you, and you don't just want to try and do things that you're seeing there in the charts today. I think that we're achieving it with things like "Running From The Ghost" and "Cage" on this new EP. I think we’re managing to do both in a way. 

** Obviously, "Running From The Ghost" is about addiction, all the stuff that you went through, and in "Cage" you’re talking about  freeing yourself from a lot of personal shackles. Was there any one moment in your life that made you really thought I have to not let this weigh me down anymore ? **

I mean, things like the motorcycle accident I had, that was a bit of a wake up call way back. It was 32 years ago. But there were things like that, years ago, that gradually made me think about what I was doing with my life. I didn't want to ruin it, really. I didn't want to throw it away, and it made [me] be less cavalier. 

I had to say to myself, about the drugs and stuff, that I've been there and I've done it. There’s no point in carrying on doing it. You couldn't get any higher. You didn't want to throw your life away casually, and I was close to doing that. It took me a bit of time, but then gradually I was able to get control of myself to a certain extent [with] drugs and everything. And I think Steve's done the same thing. We're on a similar path really, which has been great because we're in the same boat in terms of lyrics and stuff. 

So a lot of things like that were wake up calls. Even having grandchildren and just watching my daughter enlarging her family and everything; it just makes you really positive about things and want to show a positive side to how you're feeling, about where you're going. We've lived with the demons so long, we've found a way to live with them. We found a way to be at peace with our demons, in a way. Maybe not completely, but certainly to where we’re enjoying what we do and excited about it.

[When writing] "Running From The Ghost" it was easy to go, what was the ghost for us? At one point, we were very drug addicted in the '80s. And Steve in particular is super sober [now]. I mean, I still vape pot and stuff. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but it’s incredible. All I want to be able to do is have a couple of glasses of wine at a restaurant or something. I can do that now.

I think working with people that are super talented, you just feel confident. That is a big reason why you open up and express yourself more because you feel comfortable with what's around you.

Did you watch Danny Boyle's recent Sex Pistols mini-series?

I did, yes.

You had a couple of cameos; well, an actor who portrayed you did. How did you react to it? How accurate do you think it was in portraying that particular time period?

I love Jonesy’s book, I thought his book was incredible. It's probably one of the best bio books really. It was incredible and so open. I was looking forward to that a lot.

It was as if [the show] kind of stayed with Steve [Jones’ memoir] about halfway through, and then departed from it. [John] Lydon, for instance, was never someone I ever saw acting out; he's more like that today. I never saw him do something like jump up in the room and run around going crazy. The only time I saw him ever do that was when they signed the recording deal with Virgin in front of Buckingham Palace. Whereas Sid Vicious was always acting out; he was always doing something in a horrible way or shouting at someone. I don't remember John being like that. I remember him being much more introverted.

But then I watched interviews with some of the actors about coming to grips with the parts they were playing. And they were saying, we knew punk rock happened but just didn't know any of the details. So I thought well, there you go . If ["Pistol" is]  informing a lot of people who wouldn't know anything about punk rock, maybe that's what's good about it.

Maybe down the road John Lydon will get the chance to do John's version of the Pistols story. Maybe someone will go a lot deeper into it and it won't be so surface. But maybe you needed this just to get people back in the flow.

We had punk and metal over here in the States, but it feels like England it was legitimately more dangerous. British society was much more rigid.

It never went [as] mega in America. It went big in England. It exploded when the Pistols did that interview with [TV host Bill] Grundy, that lorry truck driver put his boot through his own TV, and all the national papers had "the filth and the fury" [headlines].

We went from being unknown to being known overnight. We waited a year, Generation X. We even told them [record labels] no for nine months to a year. Every record company wanted their own punk rock group. So it went really mega in England, and it affected the whole country – the style, the fashions, everything. I mean, the Ramones were massive in England. Devo had a No. 1 song [in England] with "Satisfaction" in '77. Actually, Devo was as big as or bigger than the Pistols.

You were ahead of the pop-punk thing that happened in the late '90s, and a lot of it became tongue-in-cheek by then. It didn't have the same sense of rebelliousness as the original movement. It was more pop.

It had become a style. There was a famous book in England called Revolt Into Style — and that's what had happened, a revolt that turned into style which then they were able to duplicate in their own way. Even recently, Billie Joe [Armstrong] did his own version of "Gimme Some Truth," the Lennon song we covered way back in 1977.

When we initially were making [punk] music, it hadn't become accepted yet. It was still dangerous and turned into a style that people were used to. We were still breaking barriers.

You have a band called Generation Sex with Steve Jones and Paul Cook. I assume you all have an easier time playing Pistols and Gen X songs together now and not worrying about getting spit on like back in the '70s?

Yeah, definitely. When I got to America I told the group I was putting it together, "No one spits at the audience."

We had five years of being spat on [in the UK], and it was revolting. And they spat at you if they liked you. If they didn't like it they smashed your gear up. One night, I remember I saw blood on my T-shirt, and I think Joe Strummer got meningitis when spit went in his mouth.

You had to go through a lot to become successful, it wasn't like you just kind of got up there and did a couple of gigs. I don't think some young rock bands really get that today.

With punk going so mega in England, we definitely got a leg up. We still had a lot of work to get where we got to, and rightly so because you find out that you need to do that. A lot of groups in the old days would be together three to five years before they ever made a record, and that time is really important. In a way, what was great about punk rock for me was it was very much a learning period. I really learned a lot [about] recording music and being in a group and even writing songs.

Then when I came to America, it was a flow, really. I also really started to know what I wanted Billy Idol to be. It took me a little bit, but I kind of knew what I wanted Billy Idol to be. And even that took a while to let it marinate.

You and Miley Cyrus have developed a good working relationship in the last several years. How do you think her fans have responded to you, and your fans have responded to her?

I think they're into it. It's more the record company that she had didn't really get "Night Crawling"— it was one of the best songs on Plastic Hearts , and I don't think they understood that. They wanted to go with Dua Lipa, they wanted to go with the modern, young acts, and I don't think they realized that that song was resonating with her fans. Which is a shame really because, with Andrew Watt producing, it's a hit song.

But at the same time, I enjoyed doing it. It came out really good and it's very Billy Idol. In fact, I think it’s more Billy Idol than Miley Cyrus. I think it shows you where Andrew Watt was. He was excited about doing a Billy Idol track. She's fun to work with. She’s a really great person and she works at her singing — I watched her rehearsing for the Super Bowl performance she gave. She rehearsed all Saturday morning, all Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning and it was that afternoon. I have to admire her fortitude. She really cares.

I remember when you went on " Viva La Bam "  back in 2005 and decided to give Bam Margera’s Lamborghini a new sunroof by taking a power saw to it. Did he own that car? Was that a rental?

I think it was his car.

Did he get over it later on?

He loved it. [ Laughs ] He’s got a wacky sense of humor. He’s fantastic, actually. I’m really sorry to see what he's been going through just lately. He's going through a lot, and I wish him the best. He's a fantastic person, and it's a shame that he's struggling so much with his addictions. I know what it's like. It's not easy.

Musically, what is the synergy like with you guys during the past 10 years, doing Kings and Queens of the Underground and this new stuff? What is your working relationship like now in this more sober, older, mature version of you two as opposed to what it was like back in the '80s?

In lots of ways it’s not so different because we always wrote the songs together, we always talked about what we're going to do together. It was just that we were getting high at the same time.We're just not getting [that way now] but we're doing all the same things.

We're still talking about things, still [planning] things:What are we going to do next? How are we going to find new people to work with? We want to find new producers. Let's be a little bit more timely about putting stuff out.That part of our relationship is the same, you know what I mean? That never got affected. We just happened to be overloading in the '80s.

The relationship’s… matured and it's carrying on being fruitful, and I think that's pretty amazing. Really, most people don't get to this place. Usually, they hate each other by now. [ Laughs ] We also give each other space. We're not stopping each other doing things outside of what we’re working on together. All of that enables us to carry on working together. I love and admire him. I respect him. He's been fantastic. I mean, just standing there on stage with him is always a treat. And he’s got an immensely great sense of humor. I think that's another reason why we can hang together after all this time because we've got the sense of humor to enable us to go forward.

There's a lot of fan reaction videos online, and I noticed a lot of younger women like "Rebel Yell" because, unlike a lot of other '80s alpha male rock tunes, you're talking about satisfying your lover.

It was about my girlfriend at the time, Perri Lister. It was about how great I thought she was, how much I was in love with her, and how great women are, how powerful they are.

It was a bit of a feminist anthem in a weird way. It was all about how relationships can free you and add a lot to your life. It was a cry of love, nothing to do with the Civil War or anything like that. Perri was a big part of my life, a big part of being Billy Idol. I wanted to write about it. I'm glad that's the effect.

Is there something you hope people get out of the songs you've been doing over the last 10 years? Do you find yourself putting out a message that keeps repeating?

Well, I suppose, if anything, is that you can come to terms with your life, you can keep a hold of it. You can work your dreams into reality in a way and, look, a million years later, still be enjoying it.

The only reason I'm singing about getting out of the cage is because I kicked out of the cage years ago. I joined Generation X when I said to my parents, "I'm leaving university, and I'm joining a punk rock group." And they didn't even know what a punk rock group was. Years ago, I’d write things for myself that put me on this path, so that maybe in 2022 I could sing something like "Cage" and be owning this territory and really having a good time. This is the life I wanted.

The original UK punk movement challenged societal norms. Despite all the craziness going on throughout the world, it seems like a lot of modern rock bands are afraid to do what you guys were doing. Do you think we'll see a shift in that?

Yeah.  Art usually reacts to things, so I would think eventually there will be a massive reaction to the pop music that’s taken over — the middle of the road music, and then this kind of right wing politics. There will be a massive reaction if there's not already one. I don’t know where it will come from exactly. You never know who's gonna do [it].

Living Legends: Nancy Sinatra Reflects On Creating "Power And Magic" In Studio, Developing A Legacy Beyond "Boots" & The Pop Stars She Wants To Work With

Graphic: The Recording Academy

Hear All Of The Best Country Solo Performance Nominees For The 2023 GRAMMY Awards

The 2023 GRAMMY Award nominees for Best Country Solo Performance highlight country music's newcomers and veterans, featuring hits from Kelsea Ballerini, Zach Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Willie Nelson.

Country music's evolution is well represented in the 2023 GRAMMY nominees for Best Country Solo Performance. From crossover pop hooks to red-dirt outlaw roots, the genre's most celebrated elements are on full display — thanks to rising stars, leading ladies and country icons.

Longtime hitmaker Miranda Lambert delivered a soulful performance on the rootsy ballad "In His Arms," an arrangement as sparing as the windswept west Texas highlands where she co-wrote the song. Viral newcomer Zach Bryan dug into similar organic territory on the Oklahoma side of the Red River for "Something in the Orange," his voice accompanied with little more than an acoustic guitar.

Two of country's 2010s breakout stars are clearly still shining, too, as Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini both received Best Country Solo Performance GRAMMY nods. Morris channeled the determination that drove her leap-of-faith move from Texas to Nashville for the playful clap-along "Circles Around This Town," while Ballerini brought poppy hooks with a country edge on the infectiously upbeat "HEARTFIRST."

Rounding out the category is the one and only Willie Nelson, who paid tribute to his late friend Billy Joe Shaver with a cover of "Live Forever" — a fitting sentiment for the 89-year-old legend, who is approaching his eighth decade in the business. 

As the excitement builds for the 2023 GRAMMYs on Feb. 5, 2023, let's take a closer look at this year's nominees for Best Country Solo Performance.

Kelsea Ballerini — "HEARTFIRST"

In the tradition of Shania Twain , Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood , Kelsea Ballerini represents Nashville's sunnier side — and her single "HEARTFIRST" is a slice of bright, uptempo, confectionary country-pop for the ages.

Ballerini sings about leaning into a carefree crush with her heart on her sleeve, pushing aside her reservations and taking a risk on love at first sight. The scene plays out in a bar room and a back seat, as she sweeps nimbly through the verses and into a shimmering chorus, when the narrator decides she's ready to "wake up in your T-shirt." 

There are enough steel guitar licks to let you know you're listening to a country song, but the story and melody are universal. "HEARTFIRST" is Ballerini's third GRAMMY nod, but first in the Best Country Solo Performance category.

Zach Bryan — "Something In The Orange"

Zach Bryan blew into Music City seemingly from nowhere in 2017, when his original song "Heading South" — recorded on an iPhone — went viral. Then an active officer in the U.S. Navy, the Oklahoma native chased his muse through music during his downtime, striking a chord with country music fans on stark songs led by his acoustic guitar and affecting vocals.

After his honorable discharge in 2021, Bryan began his music career in earnest, and in 2022 released "Something in the Orange," a haunting ballad that stakes a convincing claim to the territory between Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell in both sonics and songwriting. Slashing slide guitar drives home the song's heartbreak, as Bryan pines for a lover whose tail lights have long since vanished over the horizon. 

"Something In The Orange" marks Bryan's first-ever GRAMMY nomination.

Miranda Lambert — "In His Arms"

Miranda Lambert is the rare, chart-topping contemporary country artist who does more than pay lip service to the genre's rural American roots. "In His Arms" originally surfaced on 2021's The Marfa Tapes , a casual recording Lambert made with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall in Marfa, Texas — a tiny arts enclave in the middle of the west Texas high desert.

In this proper studio version — recorded for her 2022 album, Palomino — Lambert retains the structure and organic feel of the mostly acoustic song; light percussion and soothing atmospherics keep her emotive vocals front and center. A native Texan herself, Lambert sounds fully at home on "In His Arms."

Lambert is the only Best Country Solo Performance nominee who is nominated in all four Country Field categories in 2023. To date, Miranda Lambert has won 3 GRAMMYs and received 27 nominations overall. 

Maren Morris — "Circles Around This Town"

When Maren Morris found herself uninspired and dealing with writer's block, she went back to what inspired her to move to Nashville nearly a decade ago — and out came "Circles Around This Town," the lead single from her 2022 album Humble Quest .

Written in one of her first in-person songwriting sessions since the pandemic, Morris has called "Circles Around This Town" her "most autobiographical song" to date; she even recreated her own teenage bedroom for the song's video. As she looks back to her Texas beginnings and the life she left for Nashville, Morris' voice soars over anthemic, yet easygoing production. 

Morris last won a GRAMMY for Best Country Solo Performance in 2017, when her song "My Church" earned the singer her first GRAMMY. To date, Maren Morris has won one GRAMMY and received 17 nominations overall.

Willie Nelson — "Live Forever"

Country music icon Willie Nelson is no stranger to the GRAMMYs, and this year he aims to add to his collection of 10 gramophones. He earned another three nominations for 2023 — bringing his career total to 56 — including a Best Country Solo Performance nod for "Live Forever."

Nelson's performance of "Live Forever," the lead track of the 2022 tribute album Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver , is a faithful rendition of Shaver's signature song. Still, Nelson puts his own twist on the tune, recruiting Lucinda Williams for backing vocals and echoing the melody with the inimitable tone of his nylon-string Martin guitar. 

Shaver, an outlaw country pioneer who passed in 2020 at 81 years old, never had any hits of his own during his lifetime. But plenty of his songs were still heard, thanks to stars like Elvis Presley , Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings . Nelson was a longtime friend and frequent collaborator of Shaver's — and now has a GRAMMY nom to show for it.

2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List

• 1 Dirty Projectors & Deerhunter Announce Co-Headlining North American Tour
• 2 GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
• 3 A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea
• 4 Living Legends: Billy Idol On Survival, Revival & Breaking Out Of The Cage
• 5 Hear All Of The Best Country Solo Performance Nominees For The 2023 GRAMMY Awards

Press Releases Dirty Projectors Announce Worldwide Tour All Releases

Dirty projectors client information.

5 March, 2018 Print

Dirty Projectors Announce Worldwide Tour

Dirty Projectors will tour globally this summer, with shows in North America, Europe and Japan.  Songwriter/producer David Longstreth will quit his studio obsessiveness to embark on a new chapter in the Dirty Projectors story, joined by longtime members Nat Baldwin (bass) and Mike Johnson (drums) as well as three new band members: Felicia Douglass (percussion/vocals), Maia Friedman (guitar/vocals) and Kristin Slipp (keyboards, vocals).

2017 Chicago & Brooklyn festival appearances excepted, the upcoming shows will mark the first Dirty Projectors tour in nearly 5 years.

Watch the tour trailer here .

All non-festival dates* go on sale this Friday, March 9. Tickets available via www.dirtyprojectors.net

Dirty Projectors Tour Dates

5/11- 5/13/18 - Arcosanti, AZ – FORM*

5/12/18 - San Diego, CA - Music Box

5/15/18 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk

5/16/18 - New Orleans, LA - Republic

5/18/18 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn

5/19/18 - Nashville, TN - Exit In

5/21/18 - St. Louis, MO - The Ready Room

5/22/18 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

5/23/18 - Detroit, MI - El Club

5/25/18 - Toronto, ON - The Great Hall

5/26/18 - Montreal, QC - Belmont

5/27/18 - Boston, MA - Boston Calling Festival*

5/29/18 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre

6/1/18 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

6/2/18 - Philadelphia, PA - The Roots Picnic*

6/3/18 - New York, NY - The Governors Ball Music Festival*

6/12/18 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre

6/16/18 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel

6/17/18 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel

6/19/18 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

6/21/18 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile

6/22/18 - Vancouver, BC – Vogue (TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival)*

6/23/18 - Calgary, AB - Sled Island Music & Arts Festival*

6/25/18 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge

6/26/18 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater

6/28/18 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf

6/29/18 - Dallas, TX - Trees

6/30/18 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall

7/27/18-7/29/18 – Niigata Prefecture, Japan – Fuji Rock Festival*

8/09/18 - Haldern, Germany - Haldern Pop Festival - Main Stage*

8/10/18 - Copenhagen, Denmark - HAVEN Festival - Main Stage*

8/14/18 - Berlin, Germany - Heimathafen

8/15/18 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso Noord (Tolhuistuin)

8/16/18 – 8/19/18 - Brecon Beacons, United Kingdom - Green Man Festival*

8/19/18 - Glasgow, United Kingdom - The Art School

8/20/18 - Leeds, United Kingdom - Riley Smith Hall (Leeds Uni)

8/21/18 - London, United Kingdom - Village Underground

8/22/18 - London, United Kingdom - Village Underground (2nd night)

For all inquiries, please contact:

For more information please contact Matt Hanks , Chris Taillie  or Spencer Roth-Rose  at Shore Fire Media, (718) 522-7171

• Consequence

Dirty Projectors

Upcoming dirty projectors festivals appearances, upcoming dirty projectors concerts near me.

Dirty Projectors' Maia Friedman Announces Debut Solo LP, Shares Origins of Single "First to Love": Exclusive

The Dirty Projectors singer will release Under the New Light in March.

January 19, 2022

Dirty Projectors Share Track by Track Breakdown of Their 5EPs Project: Stream

The band completes their year-long EP series today with the release of Ring Road.

November 20, 2020

Dirty Projectors Announce New EP Ring Road, Share "Searching Spirit": Stream

Every band member comes together here for the last entry in their year-long 5EPs series.

October 27, 2020

Chromeo Remix Dirty Projectors' "Lose Your Love": Stream

A disco-ball spin on Dirty Projectors' effervescent summer single

October 15, 2020

Dirty Projectors Drop New EP Earth Crisis and Surprise Short Film: Stream

This is the fourth release in a five-EP project the indie rock band is releasing this year.

October 1, 2020

New Music Friday: 7 Albums to Stream

Including fresh releases from Dirty Projectors, Lomelda, Tricky, and Declan McKenna.

September 4, 2020

Dirty Projectors Announce Super João EP, Share "Holy Mackerel": Stream

The third in a series of five EPs to be collected in the 20-song anthology 5EPs.

August 19, 2020

Dirty Projectors Share "Lose Your Love" Remix by Jimmy "The Senator" Douglass: Stream

The Grammy-winning producer is also the father of Felicia Douglass, the band's keyboardist-percussionist

July 29, 2020

Dirty Projectors Perform "Lose Your Love" in Samantha Bee's Shed: Watch

From Flight Tower, the upcoming second EP in a five-EP series.

June 18, 2020

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Dirty Projectors tour dates

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Dirty Projectors with the LA Phil

• Mount Eerie

Sat / Mar 2, 2024 - 8:00PM

In their first live appearance in over four years, the era-defining Dirty Projectors team up with the LA Phil, while Mount Eerie opens the night.

• Dirty Projectors
• Los Angeles Philharmonic
• Sarah Hicks , conductor

About this Performance

Dirty Projectors have inspired countless bands with their colorful, knotty guitar work, R&B production elements, and multilayered vocal harmonies—not to mention their willingness to try anything, whether releasing five EPs in a year or covering Black Flag’s hardcore album Rise Above from memory. And while records like Bitte Orca and Swing Lo, Magellan are certifiable classics, the musical and emotional immediacy of what they do shines brightest in a live setting. It’s something Pitchfork noted in their review of the band’s 2019 live album Sing the Melody , saying that Dirty Projectors’ “are at their friendliest and most engaging when they strip Longstreth’s compositions down, tapping into the loose, raw energy that comes with playing live.”

For the first time in four years, Dirty Projectors take to the stage, performing a set of songs that takes in the scope, complexity, and sheer joy of their entire discography. They’ll also be joined by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the U.S. premiere of Song of the Earth , a song cycle for orchestra and voices written by Dirty Projectors leader David Longstreth. A kaleidoscopic work that takes inspiration from Gustav Mahler’s 1908 piece Das Lied Von Der Erde (The Song of the Earth) as much as Brian Wilson’s pocket symphonies, Song of the Earth explores the cyclical character of life and death, nature, and the transience of all things.

Kicking off the night is Mount Eerie, the project of singer and songwriter Phil Elverum, whose deeply felt, bracingly honest songs have made him a beloved and vital artist in his own right. He'll perform a very special solo set of songs from throughout his career as both Mount Eerie and The Microphones.

Programs, artists, dates, prices, and availability subject to change. Ticket limits may apply. All sales are final.

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Dirty Projectors Set North American Fall Tour

By Ryan Dombal

Photo by Sarah Cass

After coming through with one of this year's most beloved indie rock LPs , collaborating with Bjรถrk , touring with TV on the Radio , cavorting with a llama , and generally preaching their mutant-funk mantras to endearingly awkward crowds around the world, Dirty Projectors are pushing ahead with a victory lap headlining trek all across North America starting October 20 in Baltimore and wrapping up with four dates in their New York City home base. They're also set to play "Late Show With David Letterman" this Monday, August 31. TiVo time.

The group is currently gearing up for a September European tour and the release of a new EP called Temecula Sunrise , which features two brand new tracks. All upcoming Dirty Projectors dates below:

Dirty Projectors:

09-09 Paris, France - Maroquinerie 09-11 Dorset, England - End Of The Road Festival 09-12 Isle Of Wight, England - Bestival 09-13 London, England - Scala 09-16 Dublin, Ireland - Whelans 09-19 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique 09-20 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg 09-21 Berlin, Germany - Kreuzberg Festival 09-25 Toulouse, France - Le Printemps de Septembre Festival 10-20 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar 10-21 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero       10-22 Washington, DC - Black Cat       10-24 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade      10-25 Lafayette, LA - Nitetown        10-26 Austin, TX - Antones 10-28 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room 10-30 San Diego, CA - North Park Theatre 11-01 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 11-03 Portland, OR - Aladdin 11-04 Seattle, WA - Neumo's 11-07 Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue    11-08 Denver, CO - Bluebird        11-09 Lawrence, KS - Granada 11-11 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center 11-13 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge   11-14 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House 11-15 Montreal, Quebec - National        11-17 Boston, MA - Paradise        11-18 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom 11-19 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall      11-21 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall      11-22 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

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The Amplifier

The power and beauty of african guitar greats.

Hear songs by Mdou Moctar, Bombino, Orchestra Baobab and more.

By Ben Sisario

Dear listeners,

For today’s Amplifier, your proprietor Lindsay Zoladz graciously lent me the keys for a little tour of Africa to celebrate some of the continent’s guitar greats. It was prompted by my recent profile of Mdou Moctar , the axeman from Niger who has built up a following with a tight band and stunning solos that can sound somewhere between vintage psychedelia and the so-called desert blues — a modern update of the African rhythmic and harmonic traditions that underlie so much popular music in the West, including the blues (and rock, and jazz, and R&B …).

But honestly, any excuse is a good one to delve into this music and explore some of the characters behind it. There’s Ali Farka Touré , the Malian poet of the guitar, who learned from exposure to American bluesmen like John Lee Hooker but bristled at the idea that he was anything but an African purist. There’s Orchestra Baobab , whose songs are evidence of how musical styles pingpong around the world and can continue to evolve after returning home. And Oliver Mtukudzi , a force for justice and human rights who put music in service of his message.

When I interviewed Moctar, much of our conversation was about politics. His latest album, “Funeral for Justice,” is a take-no-prisoners assault on the legacy of colonialism in Africa, which includes the struggles of the Tuareg, a historically nomadic ethnic group in the Sahara region that are divided by national borders. Political statements are scarce in American pop music these days, but they are a vital part of many of the tracks here, in ways that can be direct or oblique.

This playlist is an assortment of some of my favorites, but is by no means meant as an exhaustive list, musically or geographically. If you’re new to this, I hope it can help you get started on a lifetime of exploration.

Thanks for listening,

Listen along while you read.

1. mdou moctar: “tahoultine”.

This is the track that kicked off Moctar’s journey from the heart of Niger to a stage at Coachella. It’s a low-fi amalgam of past and present, with Moctar surrounding a placid acoustic guitar part with boomy drum machines and alien-sounding, Auto-Tuned vocals. After circulating on cellphones in the Sahara region, the song made its way in 2010 to Christopher Kirkley, an American, who tracked Moctar down and made five albums with him. Moctar’s ambition was evident from the start; as Kirkley told me, one of the first things the musician asked him was, “How do I get to tour?” ▶ Listen on Spotify , Apple Music or YouTube

2. Mdou Moctar: “Imouhar”

A standout cut on “Funeral for Justice,” Moctar’s latest album, “Imouhar” centers his screaming guitar pyrotechnics, which at times can conjure Eddie Van Halen parachuting into the Sahara. Listen for flashes of Auto-Tune once again as Moctar calls for Tuareg self-respect: “Turbans and camels,” he sings in Tamasheq, “symbols of our legacy and pride.”

▶ Listen on Spotify , Apple Music or YouTube

3. Ali Farka Touré: “Ali Aoudy”

The sage of West African guitar, Touré , from Mali, popularized the style that has come to be known as desert blues, with somber, meditative modal lines that share harmonic DNA with American blues; when Touré first heard Western bluesmen like John Lee Hooker, the master of the single-chord boogie, he said , “This music has been taken from here.” This gently swinging track, recorded in the early 1980s, features Touré playing a meandering melody and an insistent bass note, with lyrics celebrating a hero of Malian independence.

4. Tinariwen: “Matadjem Yinmixan”

The Mali-based collective Tinariwen is part of the fabric of modern Tuareg history; its founder, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, fled the country as a child after his rebel father was killed by government forces in an uprising. For decades now, Tinariwen has set the standard for Tuareg bands with tightly coordinated rhythms led by Ag Alhabib, whose electric guitar sometimes seems to humbly pray. “Matadjem Yinmixan,” about Tuareg unity, has a groove so locked-in it could practically be a dance hit — when I saw the band at Coachella 15 years ago, every hip under that tent was in motion.

5. Bombino: “Tar Hani”

A Nigerien musician of roughly the same generation as Mdou Moctar, Bombino has also made inroads in the American rock world, recording with members of the Black Keys and Dirty Projectors. And he shreds, for sure, though Bombino is a subtler stylist than Moctar, here calling to mind lyrical players like Ry Cooder.

6. Orchestra Baobab: “Coumba”

In the 1970s and ’80s, this Senegalese band epitomized a fascinating kind of cultural transfer that had crisscrossed the Atlantic: musicians in Africa absorbing and refracting Afro-Cuban dance styles that had originally descended from enslaved Africans in the New World. Led by the guitarist Barthélémy Attisso, who made complex arpeggiated runs sound as simple and joyful as a mambo step, Orchestra Baobab had a seemingly bottomless repertoire of sweetly melodic, irresistibly breezy tracks like “Coumba.” Seeing them play in Central Park on a perfect summer day in 2002 is a cherished memory for me.

7. Sir Victor Uwaifo: “Igboroho (Ekassa 5)”

A Nigerian polymath, Uwaifo was never a star on the level of Fela Kuti or Oliver Mtukudzi, although he did tour the West, reaching the Village Vanguard in New York in 1970. In the 2000s his work was rediscovered and anthologized, and it’s eccentric and vibrant, with touches of vintage African highlife style, raw R&B and some wild-man guitar solos. This track is one of a series based on a traditional coronation dance called an ekassa, though in notes to a reissue Uwaifo describes it as a song by construction workers, “meant to serve as a warning that if the client doesn’t pay them, then the house will fall down.”

8. Djelimady Tounkara: “Fanta Bourama”

One of Africa’s most admired guitarists, the virtuosic Tounkara was the longtime lead player in the Rail Band (a.k.a. Super Rail Band), a popular Malian group that, like Orchestra Baobab, was born out of Africa’s midcentury craze for Latin music. On this sparkling acoustic track, Tounkara plays a romantic, flamenco-style lead, showing off his chops for a solid minute and a half before the vocals come in; he could have gone on forever.

9. Fela Kuti and Africa 70: “Zombie”

A titan of 20th-century African culture, Kuti was a musical and political revolutionary who used the unruly power of his huge funk band in challenging Nigeria’s military government in the 1970s. Brawny horns take the melodic center stage in most of Fela’s music, though he makes highly effective use of guitars as a kind of percussion element, as James Brown did. Led by Oghene Kologbo, Fela’s guitarists on “Zombie” — a mocking censure of soldiers blindly following orders — play a sequence of continuously interlocking riffs, like wheels that never stop turning.

10. Oliver Mtukudzi: “Andinzwi”

An influential Zimbabwean singer, songwriter and activist, Mtukudzi was never a flashy soloist, but he used his guitar to stirring effect in hymnlike calls for justice and peace. “Do you have to die to be a hero?” he asks in “Andinzwi,” playing a simple, soothing repeated figure on his acoustic guitar. To Western ears, it can resemble classic folk, but it’s also meant as an imitation of the bright sound of the mbira, a traditional thumb piano.

The Amplifier Playlist

“The Power and Beauty of African Guitar Greats” track list Track 1: Mdou Moctar, “Tahoultine” Track 2: Mdou Moctar, “Imouhar” Track 3: Ali Farka Touré, “Ali Aoudy” Track 4: Tinariwen, “Matadjem Yinmixan” Track 5: Bombino, “Tar Hani” Track 6: Orchestra Baobab, “Coumba” Track 7: Sir Victor Uwaifo, “Igboroho (Ekassa 5)” Track 8: Djelimady Tounkara: “Fanta Bourama” Track 9: Fela Kuti and Africa 70: “Zombie” Track 10: Oliver Mtukudzi, “Andinzwi”

Ben Sisario covers the music industry. He has been writing for The Times since 1998. More about Ben Sisario

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