Live music: Ballaké Sissoko & Piers Faccini
Mandingue musician Ballaké Sissoko and British folk artist Piers Faccini share the Thomas S. Gates Community Center stage in conversation and collaboration.
After meeting at the same record label, the two artists set out to explore each other’s musical style and history through first sharing music and then collaborating on producing music. The result is a calm, contemplative, and beautiful cross-cultural sound with Faccini on the guitar and Sissoko on the kora, a 21-stringed instrument from West Africa.
Ballaké Sissoko is a kora player and composer from Bamako, Mali. Piers Faccini is a singer, songwriter, musician, and producer from London, England. Both men have spent their careers collaborating with other artists from around the world, which has influenced each of their unique sounds and ways of making music. Their partnership has produced an EP, When the World was Song, and an album, Our Calling, both released in 2025.
This event is free for COA guests, and by donation for non-COA guests.