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# Dune boogie: Desert blues on tap at Pier
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/dune-boogie-desert-blues-on-tap-at-pier/
- Published: 2005-07-14T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:24:43.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Pier, #archive-import

*Musical sandstorm on the Pier for third Twilight Dance concert*

*By WINTER JOHNSON Special to the Daily Press*

SM PIER — Hundreds will be hearing the Saharan desert blues tonight as the Thursday free outdoor summer concert series presents Putumayo Presents Mali: Tinariwen with Markus James and The Wassonrai.

Opening the Santa Monica Twilight Dance Series will be Markus James and The Wassonrai.

For many years, James has been traveling in Mali and recording blues-influenced music with traditional Wassoulou and Sonrai musicians, officials say.

In the United States, James has performed with Malian artists playing Kameme n'goni, the eight-stringed hunter’s harp of the Wassoulou people, the kurubu and njarka violin of the Sonrai people, as well as calabash and Bolon, the three-stringed gourd bass.

The music features vocals, which alternate between Bambara, Sonrai and English. The group performed at the Festival In The Desert in 2003 and 2004, as well as in Timbuktu and other towns and villages in northern Mali.

Following James and the Wassonrai is Tinariwen, continuing the Saharan theme. Begun in 1992, the musicians of Tinariwen are all from the Adrar des Iforas in the Republic of Mali, and their subject matter reflects the exile and wandering situation of the Tuareg people, officials say.

Finding refuge in the 1970s in Tamanrasset in Algeria, the band’s musical style entitled “Tishoumaren” focuses on political consciousness and approaches the problematic aspects of the exile; of the oppression in Mali and of the political policy of the expulsion to Algeria.

The band first performed for the Libyan barracks, leading to some of the members enlisting in the Libyan army. Over the years, the band has evolved from its grassroots origins to what is considered to be the pioneer of Tuareg music, and has a cultural impact on youth in Algeria, Libya, Mali and Niger, according to officials.

Concerts start at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday on the Santa Monica Pier’s west parking deck. For more information, visit www.twlightdance.org, or www.santa-monicapier.org. You also can call the pier information line at (310) 458-8900\. For bus information, visit bigbluebus.com or call (310) 451-5444, or visit www.mta.net.

Pier officials recommend walking, biking and using mass transit to get to the concerts, as parking is limited. Parking is available in beach parking lots located at 2330 Barnard Way, located south of the pier, and 1550 PCH, just north of the pier.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/071405-04_03.jpg)

to the Daily Press Tinariwen brings its Mali-influenced music to the Santa Monica Pier tonight. (Photo: Eric Mullet/Special)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 14, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/071405.pdf?ref=smdp.com)