Last year, the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to Senegal’s yearly jazz music festival for the first time in its 29-year history. This year the festival returned, bringing much needed life to the island of Saint Louis. The island was chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage site. UNESCO chooses World Heritage sites for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of importance. Saint Louis is famous for its building styles from the 1800s and light-colored houses. Hundreds of jazz fans listened to French-Senegalese singer Awa Ly sing blues music on the island recently. Ly said she felt a sense of relief, or ease, with the festival’s return. I was relieved, and everybody else was relieved too. It was a beautiful energy, a beautiful vibration and a beautiful link between the stage and the audience." African rhythms, funk, gospel and blues music could be heard along the small streets of Saint Louis. Music played from restaurants, drinking places and hotels into the early morning. Saint Louis escaped the deadliest effects of the COVID-19 disease. But a sharp drop in tourism and a weakened economy have left its citizens ready for an emotional lift that only its largest yearly event could provide. The festival in Senegal is known as Africa's biggest jazz festival. But it has struggled with decreasing crowds since having performers like American pianist Herbie Hancock. He last performed there in 1996. Still, the festival gets music fans from across West Africa and Europe, and the city's street performers are happy to have them.
