Angelique Kidjo & Youssou N'Dour in Milan

Angélique Kidjo is a Beninese-French singer-songwriter, born in Ouidah in 1960, whose music draws on West African pop, funk, jazz and Latin rhythms. Singing in languages including Fon, Yoruba, French and English, she is known for songs such as “Agolo” and “Wombo Lombo,” the albums Logozo and Djin Djin, and her reinterpretation of Talking Heads’ Remain in Light. In 2005, she performed at Africa Calling, the Live 8 concert held at the Eden Project in Cornwall. She later appeared at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration in Soweto, and in 2017 she presented her reworking of Remain in Light at Carnegie Hall.

Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer and songwriter, born in Dakar in 1959, whose music is rooted in the dance rhythms of mbalax. He led Étoile de Dakar and later Super Étoile, and is widely known for “7 Seconds,” his duet with Neneh Cherry, as well as albums including Immigrés and Egypt. At Wembley Stadium in 1988, he performed at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, then joined Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now! tour later that year. The tour placed him on the same concert program as Peter Gabriel, Sting, Bruce Springsteen and Tracy Chapman. In 2005, he also performed at the Live 8 concert at the Eden Project. He performs with a full band, using the sabar-driven arrangements associated with Super Étoile.