Foster Cheng
Contributing Writer
Next Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. the African Students Union, in collaboration with other International Education Week sponsors, will be bringing Toubab Krewe to play a concert in McGaw Chapel for International Education Week.
The annual International Education Week is from Nov. 18-23. There are many events planned that will give “the Wooster community a variety of opportunities to experience and further its knowledge of international issues and different cultures,” according to the event’s page on the Wooster website.
“They present a very unique example of how culture can be integrated and assimilated across borders, through music and art, without losing identity & originality,” said ASU president Samuel Kitara ’14.
The weeklong set of events is part of an initiative from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State. The first International Education week was held on campus thirty years ago in the 1970s.
The African Student Union’s event features Toubab Krewe, a five person instrumental band from Asheville, North Carolina, that blends many genres to create a unique sound. Though they don’t quite fit into a genre, their music is inspired by many sources; on their website, they list rock, folk and African musicians, like Ali Farka Toure.
They also add a unique layer by using many West African percussion and string instruments, like the kora (21-string harp-lute), soku (Malian horsehair fiddle) and djembe (drums) in addition to more classically American and European instruments, such as the guitar, piano and fiddle.
According to their website, Toubab Krewe have “tenaciously honed their craft through relentless touring and a fierce dedication to carving out something they can truly call their own.”
The group has spent their time playing at festivals in the U.S. and abroad — Bonnaroo and Festival in the Desert in Mali to name a few — where they spread their multicultural style across the world.
Check out their creative sound on their website, ToubabKrewe.com, or for a more hands-on approach, come to their African instrument workshop in Babcock lounge from 3-4 p.m. on Nov. 20.