Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block Band

Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block have been collaborating for over a decade, bonding over their shared interest in music from across the world, and their commitment to innovating on their instruments. Kouyaté, a balafon player and singer coming out of the Djeli tradition of Mali, hails from the very family who invented the balafon, and is an NEA National Heritage Fellowship recipient. Block, a classically-trained American cellist/singer/composer and Grammy Award-winning member of the Silkroad Ensemble, is a versatile performer whose musical interests and performance transcends genres, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Bon Iver, Will.i.am, The National, The New York Philharmonic, Bobby McFerrin, Allison Krauss, Rhiannon Giddens, Mark O’Connor, Edgar Meyer, and many others. They have teamed up with friends from America and West Africa to create an exciting fusion of musical styles in a 6-piece band that features Sidy Maiga (djembe/vocals), Idrissa Kone (talking drum/calabash/percussion/vocals), Luke Okerlund (electric guitar) and Mike Rivard (bass/sintir).