Tinariwen + Altin Gün

PRESENTED BY FED SQUARE

Music

Free

Legendary Grammy Award-winning Tuareg desert blues pioneers Tinariwen perform as part of Open Air at the Square, along with Grammy-nominated Amsterdam-based Dutch psych-rock band Altın Gün, in an extraordinary, free, double-headliner gig.

A night of desert blues and synth-psych grooves to expand your musical horizons.

Bliss bliss bliss.

Tuareg musical pioneers and Grammy Award-winning desert blues band Tinariwen formed in 1979, in the desert borderlands between Mali and Algeria, in Northern Africa. The band’s distinct sound blends blues, Saharan tradition and Arab influence.

Over the past 46 years, they’ve played more than 1,270 concerts, won a Grammy for their 2011 studio album Tassili and have worked with internationally acclaimed artists, including Jack White, Kurt Vile, Flea and Warren Ellis.

Tinariwen’s tenth album Hoggar returns to their roots, featuring acoustic guitars and communal desert singing.

As the sun goes down, Amsterdam’s Altın Gün will bring their hypnotic, psychedelic rock and synth-pop grooves, showcasing tracks from their 2026 album Garip.

Since their 2019 Grammy nomination for their album Gece brought the band to wider international acclaim, Altın Gün’s experimental Dutch rock has continued to build loyal fans the world over – blending microtonal folk traditions with modern synth-grooves and an eclectic approach to their arrangements.

Definitely a night for the music lovers.

This event is presented as part of Open Air at the Square.

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Tinariwen

Formed in 1979 in the Adrar des Ifoghas region of northern Mali, Tinariwen are pioneers of the assouf desert blues, using their music to carry the struggles, exile and hopes of the Tuareg people – the nomadic people of the Sahara.

The band rose to global prominence in the early 2000s with The Radio Tisdas Sessions, establishing themselves as the world’s reference point for Tuareg blues.

Fierce advocates for their people’s nomadic culture that exists in the desert borderlands between Mali and Algeria, Tinariwen’s bluesy, guitar-driven music has found global acclaim over the past two decades for its lively blend of Tamasheq-language politicism, syncopated rhythms and soaring melody.

More than 45 years into their storied career, Tinariwen return to the foundations of their sound on tenth album, Hoggar, released earlier this year via their own label Wedge. The album embraces their early years of acoustic songwriting and communal singing around the desert campfire, and carrying songs of protest, love and hope in a musical tradition that has endured for generations despite repeated attempts to suppress it.

Altın Gün

Since bursting onto the scene in 2018 with their debut album On, Amsterdam-based Altın Gün have been at the vanguard of the 21st century revival of Turkish-influenced psychedelic grooves.

Coming straight out of the gate with a wah-wah and organ heavy sound that effortlessly captured the spirit of Anatolian 70s psych-funk masters like Bariş Manço and Erkin Koray, they deepened and expanded their palette with their 2021 album Yol, which brought synths and drum machines into the mix for a more 80s-influenced dream-pop vibe.

In 2020, Altın Gün’s album Gece was nominated for a Grammy Award, and in 2026, the band released their fifth studio album, Garip. The album marks a return to their Anatolian roots, featuring a collection of songs all originally written by Turkish folk legend, Neşet Ertaş. The band’s arrangements are variously inspired by funk-rock, Egyptian popular music, Bollywood soundtracks, early-80s indie music, prog-rock, and feature lush synths, looping baselines and luxuriant string arrangements.

Hero image credit: Marie Planeille

Acknowledgement of country

Fed Square acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, the Traditional Owners on whose land we gather and work. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from all nations of this land.

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Tinariwen + Altin Gün

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