Amadou & Mariam’s Eclipse – Sydney Festival

Overview

To be a part of Amadou & Mariam's Eclipse, you have to leave the sense upon which you probably feel most dependent — your sight — at the door of the Town Hall. For the entire show, the room will be immersed in pitch-black darkness.

Performers Amadou and Mariam are a husband and wife duo from Mali who met in the 1970s at the Bamako Institute for the Young Blind. Through the course of their live show, they tell their life stories, beginning with when they first started making music together, combining African rhythms with blues and pop. Scents are also funnelled in to help evoke the environment of their homeland.

After gaining star status in both West Africa and France, they became better known in the US and the UK following their 2005 release, Dimanche a Bamako. Since then, they've played some of the world's most famous festivals, including Coachella and Glastonbury; toured with the likes of Blur frontman Damon Albarn, Coldplay and the Scissor Sisters; and been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Catch Amadou and Mariam at one of three immersive experiences at the Town Hall at part of the Sydney Festival — on January 9, 10 and 11.