Bombino

For his third studio album, Omara "Bombino" Moctar traveled from the desert of Niger in West Africa to a lush wooded farm and recording studio in Woodstock, N.Y. Impossible to say how the change of scenery affected the sessions, but you can't argue with the results. In the Tamasheq language of the Tuareg people, Bombino sings of love ("Inar") and life ("Naqqim Dagh Timshar"), and war and death ("Ashuhada"), all while his dizzying guitar work invokes an endless Saharan walkabout. Backed by a full band, there are flourishes of rock and even reggae, but Azel stirs up another desert blues masterpiece. (Thu., 10:45pm, Hotel Vegas Patio; Fri., 3pm, Radio Day Stage; Fri., 1am, Palm Door on Sixth)