Listeners swayed as the celebrated Malian duo Amadou and Mariam sang from a stage on the banks of the Niger River at an annual festival coloured this year by political shifts roiling West Africa.

Festival au Desert started in 2001 as a small Sahara Desert gathering of Tuareg tribes and Malian musicians in the aftermath of civil strife between Mali’s principal ethnic groups. Its centerpieces ...

for a week-long showcase of Malian music, visual art, theatre and dance. But this year's edition of the Festival sur le Niger took place against the backdrop of Mali's exit - along with Burkina ...

Tens of thousands of people from Mali and elsewhere in the region flock each February to the town of Segou, 230 km (143 miles) northeast of the capital Bamako, for a week-long showcase of Malian music ...

STORY: Tens of thousands of people this week flocked to the Malian town of Segou for a week-long celebration of music, art, theater and dance. It's an annual event - but this time around the Festival ...