Yasmin Williams: Acadia Tour

Yasmin Williams is an innovative guitarist and composer known for her unique compositional approach and expansive instrumental style. Her latest album Acadia, released on Nonesuch Records, showcases her evolution from solo performer to collaborative artist, featuring partnerships with notable musicians like Aoife O’Donovan and Immanuel Wilkins.

Williams’ distinctive creative process involves “ruminating” on single notes until compositions naturally emerge. Beyond traditional fingerpicked guitar, she demonstrates mastery of multiple instruments including kora, harp guitar, banjo, and electric guitar. Her music, while rooted in folk traditions, transcends conventional structures to incorporate elements of progressive rock and experimental composition.

Following her acclaimed 2021 album Urban Driftwood, Acadia represents a significant artistic expansion, featuring three distinct sections that move from traditional folk influences to atmospheric soundscapes and experimental arrangements. Williams’ approach emphasizes sustained tones and intricate articulation, creating music that balances technical precision with ethereal, floating melodies.

“Yasmin Williams is one of the most inventive guitar players of the last decade, an artist devoted to deploying seemingly every technique imaginable to coax new sounds and ideas out of her instrument … Bright and gregarious yet focused, [Williams’] latest release draws on the warm camaraderie of her collaborators for an imaginative expansion of her sound.”  —Pitchfork

ABOUT YASMIN WILLIAMS

Yasmin Williams, raised in Woodbridge, Virginia, grew up surrounded by music. Inspired by a wide range of artists—from Chuck Brown to Jimi Hendrix—she began developing her innovative fingerstyle acoustic guitar technique while studying music theory and composition at NYU.

Williams has released two previous albums, Unwind (2018) and Urban Driftwood (2021), where she introduced unique approaches, such as playing kalimba and guitar simultaneously. She also incorporates instruments like the kora, harp guitar, and banjo. Despite her use of folk instruments, she resists being categorized within the genre, valuing creative freedom over conformity. Her latest record, Acadia, is out now via Nonesuch Records.

Amadou Kouyate is the 150th generation of the Kouyate family of Manding Diali, renowned oral historians and musicians of West Africa. Amadou performs on the 21-string Kora and also on Djembe and Koutiro drums. His repertoire spans traditional songs from the 13th century to original compositions incorporating blues and jazz. Amadou studied in Mali, Senegal, Guinea, and Cote d’Ivoire with master musicians of the Diali tradition including Djimo Kouyate and Toumani Diabate. Formerly a 2013-14 Strathmore Artist in Residence and Adjunct Lecturer of African Music and Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland, Amadou pursues a full-time schedule as a solo artist and collaborator.