‘Wake Up Madagascar’: A Music Tour to Fight Deforestation

The island nation of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, has one of the worst deforestation problems in the world. Starting Friday, some visitors from Madagascar will be telling Americans more about this in song.

Two years ago, New York-based Malagasy singer Razia Said put out her debut CD. It contained songs like “Slash and Burn.” Razia had said then that the song was inspired by a recent trip she had taken back home.

“We took a bus, so we toured around southern Madagascar, and it was during the whole trip that I saw so much burning, so much smoke,” she had said. “And we stopped on the road, and that’s really when it hit me. I said, my God, this country is burning down basically.”

Razia has maintained her focus on the environmental troubles facing Madagascar and Friday, she presents the latest fruits of her musical activism through a tour called “Wake Up Madagascar.”

It’s perhaps a bit misnamed.

Many Malagasy people know what’s going on there. It is the rest of the world that may be less informed. So to help her spread the word about the island’s deforestation, Razia called up some of her Malagasy musician friends.

Jaojoby is one of the most popular musicians on the island. He performs a style of dance music called “salegy.” Salegy can rock out, or it can settle into a more mellow groove. Either way, it is Malagasy music born in the country, not the city. So the musicians who make salegy music, says Jaojoby, are close to the land.

“Most good salegy music players, they stayed in the country,” Jaojoby said. “Everyday when they wake up they see trees, birds, and in their lyrics, they talk about nature.”

Jaojoby himself has seen first-hand the destruction to the forests in his home in northeast Madagascar. It is as Razia explained: “trees cut down or burned, the ground left bare.”

Jaojoby said the damage to the forests is evident, but it is the people ultimately who will pay the biggest price.

“When the land is poor, when what you plant doesn’t grow, we will starve,” he said. “Yeah, we will starve. And when the people are starving, they will do anything; Girls prostitute themselves; The gangsters may come and do terrible things.”

The “Wake Up Madagascar” tour has 10 dates across North America. The great music and its message begins Friday in Minneapolis.

“Wake Up Madagascar” tour:
◼ FRI July 13 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
◼ SAT July 14 – Madison, WI – La Fête de Marquette
◼ SUN July 15 – Chicago, IL – Martyr’s
◼ TUE July 17 – Toronto, ON – Lula Lounge
◼ WED July 18 – Montreal, QC – Festival Nuits D’Afrique
◼ THU July 19 – Somerville, MA – Johnny D’s
◼ FRI July 20 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse
◼ SAT July 21 – New York City, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
◼ TUE July 24 -San Francisco, CA – Yoshi’s
◼ THU July 26 – Pasadena, CA – Levitt Pavilion

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