Back in the mid-2000s, Toubab Krewe were ahead of the game when it came to incorporating traditional African music into the American consciousness for the modern era. This was before anyone on this side of the Atlantic heard of bands and musicians like Tinariwen, Mdou Moctar and Bombino. This instrumental band from Asheville, North Carolina have been doing “desert blues” their own way while infusing it with notes of funk, folk, bluegrass, and jazz in abstract fashion. The quintet of guitarist and organist Drew Heller, bassist & keyboardist Justin Kimmel, drummer Terrence Houston, multi-instrumentalist Justin Perkins and hand percussionist Luke Quaranta will be bringing their sound to Park City Hall in Bridgeport on October 7. Local singer-songwriter Christopher Cavaliere will be kicking the night off at 9 p.m. with a wide range of styles.

Quaranta and I had a talk ahead of the show about how the band adopted their way of making music, going on trips to West Africa, playing a variety of hand drums, being part of a memorable music festival and the band looking to release a new album in 2023.

RD: What initially inspired Toubab Krewe’s musical approach? Did you guys travel to Africa before starting the band or did one of you get introduced to the music from the continent?

LQ: Definitely the roots of the sound originally were from our travels to West Africa along with a number of our band members growing up in Asheville. I went to school there so the…