SOMALI TRADITIONAL NIGHT: Thunder Band, Caasho, Somali Museum Dance Troupe

Join us for a free night of traditional Somali music and dance at The Cedar, featuring live music by Thunder Band, buraanbur poetry led by Caasho Buranburtooy, and dance performed by The Somali Museum Dance Troupe, all curated by Cedar Artist Collective member Harbi.

Presented by Harbi as part of The Cedar Artist Collective
SOMALI TRADITIONAL NIGHT featuring Thunder Band, Caasho Buranburtooy, and The Somali Museum Dance Troupe
Saturday, September 7th / Doors: 9:00 PM / Show: 9:30 PM
Free

This is a standing show with an open floor. The Cedar always reserves a section of seats for patrons who require special seating accommodations. To request seating or other access accommodations, please go to our Access page – https://www.thecedar.org/access

HARBI
Harbi was born in Mogadishu, Somali in 1965 and began learning traditional Somali percussion and drums at the age of ten from respected musician and mentor Fil Fil. By the time he was a teenager, he had developed the versatility, reputation, and confidence as a percussionist to perform with Dur-Dur Band, the hottest Mogadishu nightclub band of its era, as well as the revered government-supported music and dance troupe, Waaberi Group. At the outbreak of war in 1991, at the peak of his career, Harbi was forced to flee Somali for Nairobi, Kenya. There Harbi reconnected with former Waaberi Group members and continued to perform in the Kenyan refugee camp. In 1992 Harbi immigrated to Minnesota and has since composed and produced four studio albums featuring numerous well-known Somali vocalists. He continues to be one of the most highly sought-after Somali percussionists and performs at countless cultural events and weddings. Harbi joined The Cedar Artist Collective in 2019, where he serves as part of a six-member group of curatorial artists and cultural liaisons from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to advise efforts at The Cedar to expand access and diversify programming.

THUNDER BAND (Musical Guests)
Thunder Band is a band of Somali musicians founded in Minnesota in 2012. Featuring renowned live vocalist Geedi, oud player Najax, and percussionist Harbi, the group performs both original and traditional Somali qaarami songs – popular ballad-like tunes that tell stories often centered on love. As one of the most in-demand live Somali musical groups in the state, they are regularly invited to perform at weddings and cultural events in the Twin Cities and beyond, including dinners for Somali dignitaries, the annual Somali Week Festival, and Minnesota Orchestra’s International Day of Music.

CAASHO BURANBURTOOY (Buraanbur)
Caasho is a renowned buraanbur leader, a traditional women-led Somali dance that accompanies poetry and drumming performances at celebratory events.

SOMALI MUSEUM DANCE TROUPE (Dance)
The Somali Museum Dance Troupe studies and perform traditional dances from different regions across Somalia. Comprised of teens and young adults from the greater Twin Cities area, the troupe has performed for countless corporate, private and public events, taking place all across Minnesota and nationwide.