Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
African superstar Youssou N’Dour has been announced to perform live at NYU Abu Dhabi on December 7.
The special performance celebrates the cultural connections between the UAE and Senegal, as the two countries prepare to co-host the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi on December 8-10.
The musician and former Minister of Tourism, who rose to fame with his global hit “Seven Seconds”, will share the stage with the UAE’s own Lewah Maritime Ensemble.
Presented by Ideas Abu Dhabi and The Arts Center at NYUAD, in collaboration with the 2026 UN Water Conference and in partnership with Abu Dhabi Festival, the concert brings together two distinctive musical traditions in a celebration of African and Middle Eastern culture and heritage.
A Grammy Award-winning singer and composer, N’Dour is renowned for blending Senegal’s traditional music with influences ranging from Cuban rumba and jazz to hip-hop and soul.
Together with his band, Super Étoile de Dakar, they developed and popularised a new urban Senegalese sound: mbalax. The style draws on the rhythms of the sabar and tama and combines them with electric guitars, keyboards, bass, jazz, soul, Afro-Cuban influences and contemporary popular music.
N’Dour has collaborated with acclaimed international artists including Peter Gabriel, Sting, Tracy Chapman and Bruce Springsteen on the historic Human Rights Now! Tour.
Opening the evening, the Lewah Maritime Ensemble will showcase the UAE’s rich musical heritage through traditional Emirati maritime music.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, November 13, at 2pm.
