Afro Pop and Southern Rock to grace Sundown

What: Coca-Cola presents “Sundown In The City” Concert Series Featuring TAMA with MOFRO When: Thursday, September 26, 2002 *5:30p.m. 9:30 p.m. Where: Market Square * Downtown Knoxville, TN Admission is free to the public. (Knoxville, TN) TAMA brings their effervescent Afro-pop fusion to Market Square on Thursday, September 26 for the second-to-last concert in the Sundown in the City series. In what promises to be one of the most interesting and exciting concerts of the Series, Malian-based TAMA serves up a mixture of rhythms from West Africa with a definitive influence from European music. Embracing the Malian philosophy to “expect the unexpected” Tama’s music reflects years of traveling, so much so that their name, TAMA, is derived from the Bambara word meaning “to walk”. With their current CD release, Espace, TAMA has made a distinct mark on the world music scene. On a whirlwind tour with WOMAD, the band has made headlining appearances this fall at World Music Festivals in Chicago, San Diego, Boston, Minneapolis, and Detroit. This worldly trio is made up of Tom Diakite of Mali, Sam Mills of London, and Djanuno Dabo of Guinea Bissau. Guided by Diakite’s competent vocals, the dominant ambience is Malian with echoes of Brazil, South Africa, New York and elsewhere. Opening the show is MOFRO, a southern culture band that revels in their front porch soul and all-live “jukehouse” funk from Florida’s Blackwater region. MOFRO is led by singer/songwriter JJ Grey, whose taste runs to raw grooves and living a life to inspire his soulful lyrics. Life itself, the good and the bad, is the fuel for MOFRO’s creative fire. Their debut release, Blackwater, was selected as a top 10 R&B/Soul album on Amazon.com. A fan favorite at the 2002 Bonnaroo Music Festival, MOFRO opened for the Bottle Rockets at BlueCats last spring in Knoxville. Come to Market Square to hear the incredible international sounds of TAMA and MOFRO on Thursday, September 26 in the second to last concert of Sundown in the City Series. This should be one of the most interesting Sundown shows, combining world cultures with southern culture.