Tinariwen is a collective of Tuareg singers, songwriters, and musicians that hail from the Sahara Desert. With their guitar-driven, hypnotic blend of traditional Tuareg, African, and Western rock music, the group is often hailed as pioneers of "desert blues." They will return to Portland with material from their new album Amatssou, which they've described as "songs of struggle and resistance with oblique references to the recent desperate political upheavals in Mali and the increasing power of the Salafists." You won't want to miss an opening set from experimental electronic artist Saloli. by Audrey Vann