MARIAM: Amadou & Mariam

When Mariam comes to Cosmopolite on April 2nd, she comes without Amadou. It almost feels strange to write. But now Oslo gets to experience a new and vulnerable chapter in one of world music's most iconic stories. After decades in which Amadou and Mariam were almost inseparable on stage, Mariam now stands alone. And yet she chooses to continue. For more than forty years, Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia were one of the world's most beloved musical couples. But they were more than musical partners. They were husband and wife. A lifelong companionship. Two voices that, through decades of music, almost became one story. They met as young people at the institute for the blind in Bamako in the 1970s. There began both a love story and a musical journey that would lead them from Mali out into the world. As Amadou & Mariam, they played for millions, collaborated with Manu Chao and Damon Albarn, shared stages with U2, Coldplay and Stevie Wonder, and became one of the truly great international voices of African music. But in April 2025, Amadou died, about a month before their planned concert here at Cosmopolite on May 8th. And suddenly Mariam was left without the man she had lived and made music with for nearly five decades. The new album, L'Amour à la folie, was completed before Amadou died and still carries both of their voices. Now Mariam takes this story forward on stage, together with the musicians who have been part of the journey, and their son Samou, who also accompanies her. This is not just a reunion with the music of Amadou & Mariam. It is Mariam in a new musical context.