In connection with the Performing Arts Exchange (PAE) conference, which will be descending on Charm City the last week in September, Creative Alliance has assembled a showcase of three ground breaking ensembles celebrating a broad musical take on the music of the African Diaspora.

9:30 PM Drums of the Diaspora is a groundbreaking collaboration tracing the roots of the drum across the Atlantic and the Caribbean featuring master percussionists Dendê, Joaquin Pozo and Bonga. From the booming bass drums of Brazil and the melodic congas of Cuba to the mystic tanbous of Haiti, percussion plays an undeniable role as the singular, connective force for musical traditions found all over the world. Drums of the Diaspora is a celebration of this vital instrument and the artists who use the drum as their primary voice. A collaboration between master percussionists, Drums of the Diaspora explores the commonalities among these separate yet undeniably connected traditions.

10:15 PM The American/Brazilian collective Nation Beat plays a 21st century mash-up inspired by Brazilian maracatu drumming, New Orleans second line rhythms, Appalachian music, funk and country-blues. They're the first American group to record in Brazil with the legendary Mestre Walter & Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante – and the first Brazilian band to perform with Willie Nelson who called Nation Beat, "just a fantastic group."

Nation Beat plays the best kind of fusion in the world -- the kind that doesn't try to fuse anything. An American/ Brazilian collective, Nation Beat belongs to both sides of the equator. You can catch them on the festival circuit both in Brazil and in the US, and on either side, fans of roots music recognize the band as one of theirs. There is probably no better metaphor than an enthusiastic Willie Nelson calling himself "overwhelmed" upon hearing Nation Beat for the first time. So overwhelmed in fact, that he invited the band to perform with him at Farm Aid – about as literal a celebration of American roots as it gets...

11:00PM Led by kora master, Senegalese-born Daili Cissokho and Kaira Ba’s repertoire is rooted in the centuries-old musical Manding culture of Cissokho’s ancestors. It’s reformulated with modernizing impulses; agile bass-lines interweave with the melodic twins of kora and electric guitar, undergirded by an explosive rhythm section of djembe and trapset drums. Kora master Cissokho is also the group’s vocal front man. His voice propels songs old and new about timeless themes of mythology, migration, and universal love. Irrepressible dance grooves, serpentine guitar work, and Cissokho’s soulful vocals and kora playing illuminate stories of ancient West Africa in a globalizing world. In fact, “universal love” is a rough translation of “Kaira Ba,” a promise the band communicates live.