Jayme Stone and Mansa SissokoSpaghetti Western String CoAn evening of musical journeys across continents and through time, with a focus on that much-loved (and occasionally ridiculed) construct of wood, skin, metal and strings that we have come to know as the banjo. Canadian banjoist (and 2008 Juno Award winner) Jayme Stone went to Africa to immerse himself in the high-spirited soundscapes, the daily life and lore. What he came home with was knowledge of two banjo ancestors never revealed before in the West, aspects of African music that eluded its American counterparts, and musical friendships that reached across continents. The outcome of this journey is Africa to Appalachia, a collaborative album Stone recorded with Mansa Sissoko, a Malian griot singer and master-player of the kora (a 21 string African harp). On Africa to Appalachia, Stone and Sissoko blur the lines of time and location. Africa and America come closer together with the banjo being the bridge. The unshackled American banjo has gone back to Africa and returned with many stories left to tell.

Openers Spaghetti Western String Company are also no strangers to the banjo. In the able hands of Mike Rossetto, the instrument is a centerpiece of this popular Minneapolis group's sparkling original compositions that blend and expand the best aspects of American and European folk traditions.

Tickets on sale now from Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Cedar outlets, and online at Ticketweb

$15 advance, $18 day of show