Festival sur le Niger

I knew about Festival sur le Niger since my first visit to Mali but never had the time to stay long enough to actually participate. With the Festival au desert taking place in the beginning of January and the Festival sur le Niger being staged at the beginning of February it would mean spending a month and a few days more just to be able to catch it. It would also mean burning all of my annual leave and then some more to attend a festival that has two thirds of its music program identical to the one I hold dearly to attend – the Festival au Desert. So it was not to be. Until this year.

Making it to the Festival au Desert takes some effort and endurance. It isn’t for the fainthearted. It takes two and a half days driving from Bamako. That is if you are driving in a good 4×4. By the time you arrive to Timbuktu your whole body is shaken and stirred. All of a sudden you realize there are more bones in your body that you’ve ever imagined. And most of them ache. But it all pays of once you arrive at the festival site. For it is a magic place in the Sahara desert with men and women wearing the most brilliant colorful dresses and pristine smiles on their faces. And camels as you would expect. All spiced up with decorations and distinctively painted wooden saddles. And then there are traditional touareg tents made out of animal skin that offer you shelter from sun or extreme cold at night. It is a sight you do not forget. A sight that gets you hooked up. Making you return year after year.

Then there is the other big Malian festival – the Festival sur le Niger. Situated on the river banks in the city of Ségou. As pleasant as Ségou is it unfortunately still is a city and it shows. The festival has completely different feel to it. It does not have any of that special air about it. For starters it takes you only a mere 3 hours of the best road Mali has to offer to arrive at the festival site. Which gives a completely different public to the festival. A public which is still very interested in African music but is not searching for a true African experience as this festival could be hosted just about anywhere on this planet. It does not differ that much from your regular festival at home. Except for the great musicians and the predominantly Malian public with their friendliness and openness. And great Malian beer;)

Baaba Maal (Senegal) performing at Festival sur le Niger in Segou, Mali on Friday, February 5 2010. Photo by Marko Preslenkov.

I might sound a bit negative about it but once you get the taste of the Festival au Desert you just can’t help but compare the rest of them with it. Which is utterly unfair comparison. As the Festival au Desert really is that special. And the Festival sur le Niger was too. Music wise it was a treat. A brilliant one at that. With the likes of Salif Keita, Baaba Maal and Habib Koïté giving their all and more on the stage. The only disappointment being Tinariwen which were uncharacteristically blend and lifeless despite the huge support from the home and especially western public. Then there were Skye and Bram to share the beers and great time and talks during the long hot days and nights spent in the open air night club with distinctively strange dance music.

And then there was the question of lodging. See Ségou is really a lovely place. But a place with virtually no rooms available during the festival. So what you do is book and pay your room in advance from Bamako. Which in theory at least should guarantee you a place to crash after the long nights partying. That is unless you have the unfortunate chance of booking a room in the same place that hosts all the stars. Salif and Baaba were staying at my hotel. Together with all of their entourage. Which not too surprisingly meant there would be problems with overbooking the rooms. So instead of staying in this luxury room with A/C and private shower I’ve got to spent the first night in the hut on the river banks. With my very own beach at disposal I didn’t mind much at all. Especially after the long long night out. And it did feel great to be sleeping on the sand listening to the sounds of the river. Then I’ve got upgraded. To a chambre de bonne. But hey a roof is a roof and as long as I got a place to stay I guess it is alright. There was a short and not too pleasant confusion regarding how much such a service is worth. And Almou insisted on nothing. Which meant he took the money back that in turn didn’t please the guys that were running the hotel. And that led to me and Skye being stopped at 5am on our way to our hotels in the middle of the road by the guys in black Mercedes wanting their money. Now. With the help of a bit of diplomacy we all agreed now it is not the time for discussing such matters and that was it. Thankfully. As I wouldn’t want a bad experience with them to distort the good impression I have of the festival.

Far is near