Do musicians play house parties?
These parties were so much fun. You’d hear, in the distance, a bunch of moped and car horns and a minute or so later a bunch of cars and motos would come flying by on the only paved road in Bougouni (which we happened to live on), young men and women hanging off the back of the motos, out of the windows of cars. A wedding party. You’d then know that later, somewhere not too far away, you’d hear djembes and a griot singer praising the newly married couple. These were alcohol-free parties that would take place in someone’s courtyard, or just outside their house. Initially there’s some attention paid to who’s invited, who are guests, but after awhile just about anyone can join in the party. Sometimes these parties could be oddly sedate. It would be inaccurate to pretend that all of them featured people dancing, and having a great time of it; at least a few of them featured the wealthier men of the community sitting around in a half-circle of folding chairs drinking Fantas while the women
