Noura Mint Seymali and Fatoumata Diawara Pull Out the Stops at Miami's Afro Roots Fest

<p>The 21st annual Afro Roots Fest in Miami got off to a rocking start with a spectacular show at the North Miami Beach Bandshell on April 6. Mauritanian griot Noura Mint Seymali and Fatoumata Diawara, the Grammy-nominated Malian singer/songwriter, were both playing the final concerts of their spring U.S. tours, and they gave their all. The theme of the night was “The Afro-Future is Female,” and nobody could have made the point more forcefully than these two women and their superb bands.</p> <p><em>Afropop Worldwide</em> was there, with our friends from the <em>Global Gumbo</em> program on WDNA, where our program also airs. We interviewed the artists and recorded both sets, yielding some of the best live tape we’ve gathered in a good while.</p> <p>All this will be featured on an upcoming radio program. Congratulations to Afro Roots Fest producers Community Arts & Culture, MDC Live Arts and the Rhythm Foundation. For now, here are a few of Banning Eyre's images from an extraordinary night of music.</p> <p><strong>NOURA MINT SEYMALI</strong></p> <p><strong>FATOUMATA DIAWARA</strong></p> <p><strong>AFRO ROOTS!</strong></p>