PRINCIPAL Club Theater & Duende present:
TAMIKREST (Mali) live in Thessaloniki!
Saturday, September 6, 2025
@ARETSOUS BEACH
One of the most important representatives of the blues of the great desert in recent years, with a trademark special mix of the traditional music of the Touareg of the Sahara desert with modern elements of rock music, and favorites of the music-loving audience of Thessaloniki, Tamikrest from Mali, West Africa, return to our parts for the 3rd time. This time the meeting point will be the magical Aretsou coast where, shortly after dusk, we will find ourselves mentally in an oasis in the heart of the desert with the company of the blues of the nomadic travelers of North Africa.
“Tamikrest” in the Tamasheq language means intersection, connection, knot, coalition. The members of the group come from different horizons (Mali, Niger, Algeria and France). Wanting to fully assimilate the Touareg heritage, they found in the revolutionary music of Ishumar the means to express it. “A desert hosts us, a language unites us, a culture binds us” is their motto.
The story begins in Kidal, capital of the eighth region of Mali, during a break for a hot cup of tea (of course). Pino, Cheikh and Mossa have just finished a guitar workshop with Juhan Ecaré (guitarist of Meiway) and decide to create a group with only two old handmade guitars. And that’s how Tamikrest began…
“Although we are still young, guitars always have six strings!”
After a year and a half of hard work, the group is complete and their repertoire has grown and expanded with several original compositions. Although their music is rooted in Ishumar rock and desert blues, it incorporates various elements from international influences and neighboring cultures.
Through the message of their songs, Tamikrest want to make Tamasheq poetry and culture accessible to the inhabitants of a world larger than the vastness of the Sahara Desert.
// The concert will take place within the framework of the “Para ‘thin’ alos” festival and with the support of the Municipality of Kalamaria //
