Noon | Old Town School of Folk Music | $10, $9 members

1 PM | Claudia Cassidy Theater

Kenge Kenge This Kenyan ensemble, which began its life as the backing group for a state-sponsored choir and became Kenge Kenge in the early 90s, has a fascinating but peculiar take on benga music, the guitar-driven dance style that arose in the mid-20th century and has dominated Kenyan pop since the 60s. Benga evolved in part from the traditional music of the Luo, one of the country’s largest ethnic groups, and Kenge Kenge purposely undo some of that evolution, using ancient Luo instruments instead of rock-style drum kits and electric guitars—on the group’s 2007 debut album, Introducing Kenge Kenge (Introducing), electric bass is the sole concession to modern music technology in a lineup that includes orutu (fiddle), asili (flute), oporo (horn), and nyangile (gong) as well as a heap of traditional percussion. Unison vocals create rich melodic patterns, and the lush sonic fabric woven by the frontline instruments sparkles with high harmonies. Yet Kenge Kenge’s rigorous, minimalist dance music, with its irresistible bumping rhythms and cycling grooves, is not only folkloric but also thoroughly contemporary. The beats are tightly layered and intricate, and there’s something about their hypnotizing relentlessness—and the group’s rough-hewn, homemade sound—that recalls Congolese group Konono No. 1. —PM

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3:30 PM | Navy Pier

7 PM | Reggie’s Music Joint | $15, $12 in advance, 21+

Khaira Arby & Band She’s been a major figure in Malian music for nearly two decades, but singer Khaira Arby is only now beginning to make inroads in the U.S., releasing the stunning Timbuktu Tarab (Clermont) and embarking on her first major North American tour. Legendary guitarist Ali Farka Toure was one of her cousins, and though you can hear the influence of his so-called desert blues in her music, she has her own hypnotic sound, one that also draws on the Tuareg traditions known to Americans largely through bands like Tinariwen—rhythms cycle past one another, shifting in and out of sync, with electric guitar, n’goni, and fiddle dancing through a thrilling give-and-take of solo lines, stabbing licks, and circular riffs. Yet as fantastic as her band is, Arby is unequivocally the focal point. She’s got a strong, piercing voice that practically grabs you by the throat, and her ironclad pitch control can withstand her most forceful blasts of lung power; her occasional subtle use of melodic ornament does nothing to dilute her bluesy, granite-hard delivery. A few tracks on the album tangle with reggae or ramp up into a tougher electric sound, with several guitars slashing and jousting, but even then Arby burns brighter than everything around her. Timbuktu Tarab is one of the best records from Africa I’ve heard in years. —PM

Introduction

Thursday, September 23

Friday, September 24

Saturday, September 25

Monday, September 27

Tuesday, September 28

Wednesday, September 29

Thursday, September 30