I research how communities in northwest Africa’s Sahel and Sahara regions navigate the deepening effects of global capitalism through music and sound. My current project, Desert Reverberations: Remaking Tuareg Music after Rebellion, examines shifting value regimes in the Tuareg music economy since the 1990s, a period when subversive guitar songs played a crucial role in mobilizing Tuareg rebellions in Mali and Niger. How do artists, fans, and cultural institutions manage the tensions between this political legacy and the new material possibilities afforded by Tuareg guitar’s public popularity—locally and globally—while honoring deep social values that have guided Tuareg communities over many generations?
I draw on over eighteen months of ethnographic and archival research in Niger, Mali, and the US that has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, the West African Research Association, Fulbright, the Fowler Museum, and other funders. I have presented this work at conferences and seminars in Niger, Ghana, the UK, and the US, including the Harvard Mahindra Humanities Center and Boston University African Studies Center.
Below is a selection of some of my research activities. For a complete listing, see my curriculum vitae at the link above. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have trouble accessing any of these materials.
Presentations
“Rebels, Authors, Compatriots: Exilic Space and the Making of Popular Music in Niger.” Walter Rodney Seminar, African Studies Center, Boston University. Mar 17, 2025. View on YouTube below.
with Etran Finatawa • “À l’écoute de la création de la musique populaire nomade au Niger” [Listening for the Making of Nomadic Popular Music in Niger]. Filière Arts et Culture, Université Abdou Moumouni, Niamey, Niger. Jan 24, 2025. View a brief feature on this seminar presented by Nigérien media outlet Studio Kalangou.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“Arid Fidelity, Reluctant Capitalists: Salvage, Curation, and the Circulation of Tuareg Music on Independent Record Labels.” Ethnomusicology Forum 28 (3): 260-282. 2020.
Book Chapters
In Press, 2025 • “Playing with Class: Honor, Griotisme, and Professional Artists in the Tuareg Music Economy.” In Music as Cultural Text: Performance Traditions in West Africa and its Diasporas (Palgrave Macmillan), edited by Babacar M’Baye, Fallou Ngom, Alioune Willane, and Khadimou Rassoul Thiam.
Encyclopedia Articles
“Tuareg Guitar Music.” Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume XII, edited by Heidi Carolyn Feldman, David Horn, John Shepherd, and Gabrielle Kielich. New York: Bloomsbury. 2019.
Reviews
Film Review | Akounak tedalat taha tazoughai (Rain the color of blue with a little red in it) by Christopher Kirkley. Ethnomusicology 63 (1): 156–158. 2019.
Book Review | Music, Culture, and Conflict in Mali by Andy Morgan. Ethnomusicology Review Sounding Board. 2014.
CD Review | Wallahi le Zein! Wezin, Jakwar, and Guitar Boogie from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Ethnomusicology Review Sounding Board. 2012.
Other Publications
“Fighting for Funding: A Member Experience at the 2019 Coalition for International Education Advocacy Event.” African Studies Association News 53 (1): 9-11. 2020.
Interview | Christopher Kirkley, Sahel Sounds, and Guerrilla Ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology Review Sounding Board. 2014.
Manuscripts in Preparation
Desert Reverberations: Remaking Tuareg Music after Rebellion. (Book manuscript; conducting follow-up research and writing.)