The 21st of April is not just any day. On this day, each year, the Eternal City celebrates its birthday. According to myths and archaeology, Rome was founded exactly 2,779 years ago. Whether for the celebrations or because the tourist season is finally picking up after a rainy winter, the atmosphere in the city feels electric. The Sinopoli Hall at the Auditorium Parco della Musica “Ennio Morricone” has been sold out for weeks for Tinariwen’s first show in Rome in almost a decade
Tinariwen (“deserts” in the Tamasheq language, written ⵜⵏⵔⵓⵏ) is a collective of Tuareg musicians, a nomadic people from the Sahara regions of North-western Africa. Tinariwen was formed in the late ’70s by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib. Their sound draws from traditional African music and Tuareg poetry, interwoven with electric blues. The band released their tenth studio album, Hoggar, in March 2026 and are currently touring Europe in support of it before embarking on a Canadian tour in september.
There is no opening act tonight, yet the tension is palpable. As the crowd is impatiently waiting for the band to get on stage, the soft sound of songbirds is playing from the speakers. Tinariwen take the stage a few minutes past 8 pm in a seven-piece line-up, with founding members Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Alhassane Ag Touhami, and Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni at the front. The rest of the collective is completed by two additional guitars, bass, and percussion. Ag Alhabib greets the audience with the ritual “Salam Alaikum” as the band moves into the opening song, “Alkhar Dessouf” from their 2004 album Amassakoul.
The setlist spans their entire career, and included classics such as “Le Chant des Fauves” from their debut album The Radio Tisdas Sessions (2001), “Assawt” from Elwan (2017) and “Amassakoul ‘n’ Ténéré”. The interplay between Ag Alhabib and Ag Alhousseyni is seamless, with each one taking on lead vocals and lead guitar and occasionally switching roles throughout the set. The sound of the desert is so energetic and transporting the audience rose from their seats, gathering at the front of the stage to dance along with the music. One of the night’s most striking moments comes when a young attendee pulls out a Tammorra (a traditional Southern Italian percussion instrument) and begins playing along, creating an unexpected synergic dialogue between cultures and sounds.
After just over 90 minutes, the journey across desert landscapes comes to an end, though not without a three-song encore. Returning to the stage, Ag Alhousseyni delivers a solo version of “Soixante Trois” from their 2007 album Aman Iman, before the full band rejoins him to bid farewell to the audience with two hits such as “Sastanàqqàm” and “Chagaybou,” closing the night. The energy of Tinariwen, their dreamy solos, and their layered choruses lingered with us and kept us dancing well outside the venue and on our way home.
GALLERY: Tinariwen at Sinopoli Hall at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Italy (April 21, 2026)
