15

Wednesday

Artsy college kids and rural American eccentrics are not the only musicians creating rough-textured, minimalist folk. Via Kabul: Central Asia Without Borders offers a rare opportunity to hear the plucked and vocalized sonics that are refreshing ethnically rooted traditions along Marco Polo’s Silk Road. Kyrgyzstan’s seven-person ensemble Tengir-Too merges Soviet-era conservatory training with mountain nomad culture. Tajikistan’s Academy of Maqam sings Sufi Muslim poetry in Tajik, a dialect of Persian, over the classical rhythms of frame drums and lutes. Homayun Sakhi strums and picks the rubab, an Afghan lute.While some musicians merely keep traditions alive, Sakhi expands them, dispensing fast-fingered fretwork on Indian-influenced ghazals in a style distinctly his own. The multimedia concert begins at 7:30 p.m. (see City List for other dates) at the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium, Jefferson Drive & 12th Street SW. $25. (202) 252-0012. (Steve Kiviat)