"Once you touched the sky and you went down,"
she crooned. "Use your inner senses and you'll figure it out,
like a dream you can't remember."
Last year COVID-19 halted Saint Louis' jazz festival for the
first time in its 29-year history. This year it was back,
bringing much needed life to the Island of Saint Louis, a UNESCO
World Heritage site famed for its colonial architecture and
pastel-coloured houses.
African rhythms, funk, gospel and blues could be heard along the
narrow streets last weekend, emanating from restaurants, bars
and hotels into the early morning.
"I was relieved, and everybody else was relieved too," Ly said
after her performance. "It was a beautiful energy, a beautiful
vibration and a beautiful link between the stage and the
audience."
Saint Louis, in northern Senegal, was spared the deadliest
impacts of COVID-19. But a decline in tourism and an economic
crunch have left residents hungry for a boost that only its
largest annual event could provide.
Billed as Africa's biggest jazz festival, it has struggled with
dwindling attendance since its days hosting headliners like
American pianist Herbie Hancock, who played there in 1996.
But it does draw enthusiasts from across West Africa and Europe
and is a source of pride for the city's street performers.
"Jazz attracted a lot of tourists so we could play in the
streets, so we managed to collect a little money," said Adama
Ndaw, 25, who busks near the Faidherbe Bridge, which ties the
island of Saint Louis to the rest of the city on the mainland.
"Nothing was there last year, but today it is good because we
still managed to at least build a stage."
Through a small door off an unpaved alley, one bar was packed.
Jamm Jazz, a fusion band from the capital Dakar, were all smiles
playing their second of three sets as the audience danced or sat
crammed together around overbooked tables.
"The festival not taking place last year was an economic
disaster for Saint Louis," said band leader Moustapha Diop.
"This year, despite the crisis, the festival was held because if
it wasn't, it would be a big blow for the city to come."
(Reporting by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Edward McAllister and
Richard Chang)
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