Touki - Plastic Man

I've had a lazy day.

Vera, Margret's cousin, came over for coffee and a chat this morning. Her son and grandson had gone for a walk on Hadrian's Wall Trail. They were all meeting up in Hexham and were taking Margret to the afternoon rehearsal of the Orpheus Choir.

The concert was to include a mass by the composer Ethyl Smyth (also a suffragette).

I went to a very different concert in Humshaugh Village Hall. A band called Touki were playing. The two main musicians are Amadou Diagne from Senegal and Cory Seznec from the USA. They met by chance when busking in Bath and have been collaborating since.

They had a third member of the group tonight, the amazing Michael Ward Bergeman from Minnesota, who made his harmonica sing as though he was playing multiple instruments. 

The group play a fusion of African and Appalachian music, plus much more. You see Amadou playing the African harp, the kora, in my blip. Cory was on guitar or banjo.

They all sang.

Humshaugh Village Hall was a very happy place tonight. Everyone seemed to enjoy the music which moved us emotionally to great depths.