Malian singer Khaira Arby and her band will appear for free tonight at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage as part of their first U.S. tour, which coincides with the release of Arby's first North American album, Timbuktu Tarab, on the Clermont Music label. Arby sings in a brash, raw-edged voice in Sonrai, Arabic, and Tamashek over her band’s mix of noisy electric guitar, traditional Malian percussion, and stringed instruments.

Arby has been singing professionally for two decades.  The daughter of a Songhai/Tamashek Islamic mother and a Berber father, she began singing as a child in her Saharan village home just north of Timbuktu, but was discouraged from continuing to do so by her father, who married her off at age 14.  At 22 she was divorced, and began singing regularly with a band, and on occasion with her cousin, the late guitarist Ali Farka Toure. In Mali she and her group have released a number of cassettes including the effort Ya Rassoul, which according to the Awesometapesfromafrica blog, was “enormously popular in Timbuktu, where you will hear this tape playing out of a ghetto blaster in a shop or the cassette deck of a car. This is not 'world music,' this is just plain old awesome music that straddles the linguistic and cultural divide of a place like Timbuktu.”

Timbuktu Tarab has its awesome moments, as well.  Arby’s voice is loud and husky as she roars out a mixture of praise songs and social criticism over her two desert-blues electric guitarists, the ngoni lute, the njarka one string fiddle, bass, drums, and backing vocalists.  Not all of it works.  It’s a bit samey-sounding at times, as Arby does not display here the wide melodic range of her fellow countrywoman Oumou Sangare. However, videos of older material show that she can sing more softly when she wants to.

Khaira Arby and band perform for free  from 6 to 7 p.m. (the concert will also be webcast) today at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage,  2700 F St., NW.  (800) 444-1324.

Dambe: The Mali Project (94 minutes), directed by Dearbhla Glynn, screens as part of the Capital Irish Film Festival Wednesday Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Goethe-Institut, 812 7th St. NW.

Nearly 3 years ago Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Toure’s debut release appeared.  It came out shortly after the death of his legendary guitar-playing father, Ali Farka Toure, known for his distinctive Malian Islamic roots in the desert meets John Lee Hooker style.  His father, before passing away from cancer, recorded four tracks with his son. Vieux’s musical mentor, kora (21 string African harp) player and bandleader extraordinaire  Toumani Diabete also appeared on four songs on that debut, so despite its merits, it was hard to hear that cd as that much more than the effort of a still learning musician who was not quite his Dad or his Dad’s pals.  Now on Vieux’s recently released second album Fondo (it means “the road”) he is beginning to establish his own identity.  He will also be back in town Monday night June 22, this time at the Rock and Roll Hotel.

While Toumani Diabete is on one track on Fondo, and veteran Malian vocalist Afel Bocoum is on three cuts, this is very much Vieux’s cd as he penned all but one song (a traditional) and his guitar playing, influenced by Dad but with some rock and Caribbean influences as well, dominates the sound.  However, Vieux also adds some modern touches with the help of bassist/producer/remixer Yossi Fine (he and Vieux produced) from Israel and New York trap drummer Tim Keiper who has played with John Zorn and with the Dirty Projectors. Not afropop ala Amadou & Mariam, this is more Saharan bluesy drone, but with enough distinctive touches in each cut to keep it from being too repetitive.

On album opener “Fafa,” Vieux quickly establishes his turf with some raw, powerful chords, then the band joins in and his playing turns lyrical as the vocals and the rhythm section help turn the number into a melodic desert blues lullaby.  Vieux has noted in interviews that in learning music from Toumani Diabete, he has tried to make his guitar conjure up a sound that resembles that of the harp-like kora, and he succeeds in parts of this song as well in the album closing reprise version of the tune.  “Ai Haira,” “Sarama,” and “Cherie Le” on the other hand, strikingly meld uptempo and more abrasive Farke Toure guitarwork with polyrhythms courtesy of Malian percussionists and drummer Keiper.  “Diaraby Magni” features dub reggae playing and production while “Paradise” spotlights Vieux and Diabete dueting acoustically with radiant strumming and demonstrates that he can play traditionally without just imitating the past.

Monday June 22 at 8:30 (doors at 8) –Vieux Farka Toure with local openers Elikeh and Farafina Kan at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street, NE, Washington, DC USA – (202) 388-ROCK, $15.

On “Koronoko” she starts her vocals off soothingly while strumming her electric Gretsch in a Northern Mali desert blues style. Soon her voice gets louder and echoing percussion makes an appearance lending further atmospheric drama to the cut. Nonesuch added to the American version of the cd her Billie Holiday inspired version of Gershwin’s “The Man I Love.” Traore usually sings in Bambara or French but she does this jazzy Malian rendition in English. Much of her live set will likely use faster tempos.

When I saw her in 2004, she turned much of the second half of the set into polyrhythmic dance music. She was joined by a skilled band on a variety of instruments—two ngonis (skin-covered lute), djembe drum, calabash, balafon (xylophone with slats on gourds) and electric bass.

Rokia Traore at 8 p.m. Thursday February 12 at the Barns of Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va.