Youssou N’Dour et Le Super Étoile de Dakar - Imigrés - Live at Afrika Festival Hertme 2025

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Youssou N’Dour et Le Super Étoile de Dakar - Senegal
Live at Afrika Festival Hertme - The Netherlands
date of performance - July 6, 2025

Youssou N’Dour - lead vocals
Babacar Faye - percussion
Assane Thiam - talking drum
Elhadji Oumar Faye - percussion
Abdoulaye Lo - drums
Moustapha (thio) Mbaye - percussion
Moustapha Baidy Faye - keyboard
Ibrahima Cisse - keyboard
Moussa Ngom - keyboard
Papa Oumar Ngom - guitar
Moustapha Gaye - guitar
Thierno Sarr - bass guitar
Birame Dieng - backing vocals
Djibril Seye - backing vocals
Eva Liza Ciss - backing vocals
Alain Rodrigue Oyono - saxophone
Moussa Sonko - dancer

In the early 1970s, as a 12-year-old boy, Youssou N’Dour heard the ‘Star Band’ rehearsing. At the time, it was the most popular group in Dakar, and he wanted to sing with them. Thanks to his exceptional voice, he succeeded. In 1979, he formed his own band, ‘Étoile de Dakar’. In his early work with ‘Étoile de Dakar’, you can recognize the typical Latin-American style that was popular in Africa at the time. Later, in the mid-1980s, he developed his own ‘mbalax style’ with ‘Le Super Étoile de Dakar’—a mix of traditional Wolof music, pop, reggae, and funk.

For Western audiences, N'Dour is best known for his 1986 collaboration with Peter Gabriel and for his 1994 worldwide hit ‘7 Seconds’ with Neneh Cherry. N'Dour is deeply committed to various social and political causes. In 1985, he organized a concert calling for Nelson Mandela’s release. He toured for Amnesty International and worked with the United Nations and UNICEF. Because of these efforts, the Prince Claus Fund awarded him a prize in 2002. “His worldwide success as a singer, composer, bandleader, and producer is used in service of society. Through his music, he provides social commentary and promotes tolerance and intercultural dialogue,” stated the jury.

With his 1984 album Immigrés, he called on Senegalese people building a new life in Europe not to forget where they came from. With Egypt (2004), he honored the spiritual leaders of Senegalese Sufi Islam. In 2012, he entered Senegalese politics and briefly served as Minister of Culture and Tourism. In 2013, he returned to the global music stage. With his song One Africa, he aimed to bring hope to the recent religious conflicts in the Central African Republic. In the video clip, he, a Muslim, sings a duet with the Christian singer Idylle Mamba. He says: “I want to show that religions are not an obstacle but rather an enrichment. All the problems in Africa come down to the distribution of wealth, which pushes people in a certain direction. That is what causes frustration.”

In 2016, Youssou N'Dour also performed at the Africa Festival Hertme