Ever felt like you needed a soundtrack to your Sahara road trip? No?
Well, I guess you were not among the lucky ones watching Tinariwen at their sold-out Huxleys Neue Welt show on 30 April 2026.
If you’re unfamiliar with them, Tinariwen are a Tuareg collective formed around southern Algeria, in the late 1970s. Not only they are one of the defining names of desert blue but also the main reason many of us know of it.
Their story is impossible to separate from exile, rebellion and the history of the Tuareg people. Founding member Ibrahim Ag Alhabib grew up between desert and refugee camps, and Tinariwen’s own biography tells how he built his first guitar using an oil can, a stick and a bicycle brake wire. From there, the band became a voice for a people whose identity, land and culture have often been pushed to the margins. (More on that in a recent Dazed article)
And that shines on stage.
In a way, it was clear their songs went further than the tende rhythm, bluesy guitar solos and choir melodies. It was tradition, community and warmth.
A way of saying we all come from somewhere, and maybe we should all head towards being a bit more human with each other.
Feels like overreaching? Well, anyone who attended might fight you on it.
Because even if we don’t speak the same language, wear the same clothes or worship the same gods, we were all part of their journey.
“Dankeschön, thank you, gracias, merci and shukran” were literally the only words the main singer chose/knew to say to us. And besides being the obvious way to answer a huge applause after a song that made us all dance, it felt deeper than that.
A thank you for supporting their roots. For acknowledging their music and culture. For selling out a big venue in Berlin and making the whole night feel like something shared.
We don’t know if I’ll ever road trip through the Sahara.
But if we do, Tinariwen will be playing.
If there are tickets available, don’t miss your chance to see them.
All images were taken by Pablo Iriarte with the permission of the artist and venue and are subject to copyright.
For usage rights, please contact photo@piriurdi.es .
