Vieux Farka Touré

The son of Malian music royalty, the legendary Ali Farka Toure, Vieux Farka Touré is often referred to as the Hendrix of the Sahara, a title meant more to convey the point that the man is a brilliant guitarist than to suggest that there's anything remotely Hendrix-esque about his playing (which there isn't). Vieux draws on haunting Saharan blues and traditional Malian melodies and infuses them with his own global influences to create an irresistible Afropop sound all his own. He's an altogether different kind of awe-inspiring. "Toure’s guitar playing is, frankly, incredible …