The Nightingales!

We had been hearing rumors of Valentine's Day concert. (Well- not really a Valentine's concert. Maybe you've seen the news out of Khartoum, where the Sudanese clerics denounced Valentine's Day?)
We really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. A friend got the tickets for us- US$10. We just knew to show up at "The Officers' Club" at 8pm. And so we did!
We were there to see Al Balabil (The Nightingales)- three ladies with a long, successful career as performers in Sudan and other parts of Africa. It seems they were known as "the Supremes of Sudan" in the 1970s! Read all about them HERE. Very awesome! This was the first time we'd seen live music in months! (Options are very limited here due to the Shar'ia law.) And it was great! People were snapping, singing along, and even dancing a bit! The crowd definitely seemed to know the words!
A super-exciting evening out in the great city of Khartoum!

In doing my internet research to learn about these ladies, I also found that there is an annual Sudanese Music and Dance Festival in the United States every summer! This year's location is still to be determined- but I may be seeing these girls again in July! :)