Bombino has been a star in Portland since 2012, when the Tuareg guitarist and his terrific backing band, bedecked in bazin robes and tagelmust scarves, played a fervently exciting set of Saharan desert blues amid the lush greenery of Pickathon festival’s stage in the woods. Since then, the rest of the world’s caught on, with Bombino recording albums with the likes of the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth. Deran, Bombino’s latest, was recorded in Casablanca without a producer, and showcases the guitarist from Niger without western interpretation or concealment. His wondrously eloquent and fiery guitar work is still front-and-center, but now it’s joined by a reggae flavor and the kind of confidence that only global acclaim can instill. While he attracts more of a jam-band crowd than he used to, Bombino remains one of the best guitarists in the world, so the live show will be as good as that suggests.

by Ned Lannamann