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Mdou Moctar

Cutting-edge guitar virtuoso set to shred for his Sydney Opera House debut

Sydney – Friday 25 November, 2022. Niger's shred prince Mdou Moctar will make his scorching Sydney Opera House debut on 14 and 15 March, 2023, bringing his full band for two nights of fiery psychedelic rock, Tuareg blues and innovative guitar wizardry in the intimate Utzon Room. Tickets are on sale from 9am today.

Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Music, Ben Marshall, said: “Mdou Moctar has emerged as one of the most exciting singular voices in guitar music, injecting Tuareg desert blues with the incandescent energy of psych rock, and his own innovative, self-taught flair. Like friends and families gathering for his communal open-air shows in his native Niger, join us in the Utzon Room as Mdou transports audiences to another dimension, backed by the ascendant might of his full band.”

Raised in a village in central Niger, Moctar taught himself how to play on a self-made guitar using bicycle cables, welding traditional Tuareg desert rock to his own wildly unique vision. After Moctar’s early music went viral on a West African cellphone network, the singer-songwriter’s tracks were compiled on 2013’s Afelan, showcasing his Hendrix-style guitar brilliance with desert field recordings, followed by 2019’s sonically adventurous Ilana, which drew rave reviews for its musical pyrotechnics.

His explosive 2021 album Afrique Victime became one of the year’s most acclaimed records, earning a coveted ‘Best New Music’ title from Pitchfork. With its searing Van Halen-inspired soloing, and lyrics protesting colonial violence in his home country, the album was his first to feature a full band: guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, bassist Mikey Coltun, and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, who will all join Moctar on stage in the Utzon Room in March.

EVENT DETAILS
WHAT:    Mdou Moctar
WHEN:   9pm, Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 March, 2023
WHERE:   Utzon Room
TICKETS:  From $49 + booking fee // sydneyoperahouse.com // +61 2 9250 7777
On sale: 9am, Friday 25 November

For media information, please contact:

Genvin In
Communications Coordinator
0449 939 864
genvin.in@sydneyoperahouse.com