Bombino, who closes out the current leg of his European tour in Portugal this weekend before bringing the music of his new album, Nomad, to the States on tour, is the subject of a piece on BBC Africa. In the piece, he discusses the links between rock and roll and the people of Niger.

"What I like about rock and blues music is that I can transmit emotions through this type of music to my fans, and that's really important to me," he tells the BBC's Helene Daouphars. "Rock music is similar to the traditional Tende music; it is very popular in Niger. Nomads enjoy rock because they love dancing like crazy to it."

Bombino goes on to discuss the differences between life in the desert and in some of the cities he's visited on tour, like London, where he recorded the piece. You can watch the BBC Africa segment on bbc.co.uk.

Bombino's US tour begins at the Sasquatch! Festival in Washington state on May 25 and continues throughout the summer. For details and ticket links, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

To pick up a copy of Nomad, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.