Credit: Photo by Gary Miller

Les Frères Guissé

Saturday, Sept. 27, Zilker Park

It’s a shame that three brothers from Senegal should travel so far to be sidelined in a tent while ubiquitous indie rock kids held the main stage, but for Les Frères Guissé, there was no issue that could not be overcome – not even the brief blare of feedback – with sweet harmonies, acoustic guitars, and a faith that music and hope go hand in hand. “People hear this next song and say it’s a blues music,” said Djiby Guissé, introducing a Sahelian tune that recalled the late Ali Farka Touré. “We tell them it is not blues music; it is our music.” Brother Aliou Guisssé on percussion kept everything and everybody moving right along. Families danced up front and chanted along when the brothers invoked Nelson Mandela. Indeed, the blues were a long way off.

This article appears in October 3 • 2008.

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