In 1996, a group of Mali’s best-known musicians were due to fly to Havana for a collaboration with Cuban singers and instrumentalists. However, the Malians never arrived due to travel complications, and a very different album was recorded instead: the Grammy Award–winning, multi-million-selling Buena Vista Social Club, which became the biggest selling “world music” album ever. Nearly a decade and a half later, the original invitees were finally brought together to record with a line-up of additional talent, and in 2010, World Circuit/Nonesuch Records released AfroCubism—featuring Toumani Diabaté, Eliades Ochoa, Bassekou Kouyate, and more—to critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination.

The musicians of AfroCubism are now making their way to the United States for their first North American tour since last summer. This year's whirlwind, four-stop spring tour kicks off with a bang, with two performances at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, tomorrow—at the Which Stage at 4 PM and the Sonic Stage at 6:15 PM. From there, the band heads to New York City for a free set at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn for the Celebrate Brooklyn! series, followed by a Sunday night show at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. The tour concludes with another free set Tuesday night in Toronto's David Pecaut Square for the Luminato Festival, a double bill with label mate Fatoumata Diawara, whose debut EP was released digitally on World Circuit/Nonesuch last fall.

For additional tour details and ticket links, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour. To pick up a copy of AfroCubism, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include instant downloads of the album at checkout.