Tani Diakite & the Afrofunkstars, Los Chechos

$20. Doors 7:30 pm.

press release: The 9th annual Tropical Forest Funkraiser supports the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation, a Madison-based non-profit that has worked since 1997 with communities in Ecuador to protect tropical forests, and leads study abroad and adventure travel trips in partnership with UW-Madison. This year, Ceiba is raising funds to support the conservation of coastal Ecuador’s Tropical Dry Forests, recognized as one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. In April 2016, the region was hit with a major earthquake, and Ceiba has been at the forefront of the relief and recovery effort in the communities of Tabuga and Camarones, helping people “build back better” through green building, sustainable economic development, agroforestry, and environmental education aimed at improving livelihoods while protecting the precious biodiversity around them. The Tropical Forest Funkraiser is a great way for the Madison community to connect with this international NGO here at home, and is always a fun reunion for the alumni of Ceiba’s study abroad programs.

“Tani Diakite is a musical force who has inspired an entire community of artists”, says World Music Network, and indeed he and the Afrofunkstars create West African music at its finest. Tani’s melodic vocals and the Kamale n’goni, an instrument similar to the kora, are at the center of their bluesy style of Malian music called Wassoulou, one of the African music forms believed to be the origin of American blues. Tani Diakite and the Afrofunkstars’ music ranges from folksy and soulful, to jazzy, to downright danceable!

Los Chechos open with their funky Latin originals and world music covers, led by Alex Punguil, who came to Madison from Ecuador and have been grooving ever since! Both bands will provide just the right amount of heat for this tropical event!

There will also be a tropical plant sale. All proceeds benefit the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation, 301 S. Bedford St., Suite 7A, Madison, WI 53703