Cross-cultural concert series blends Somali memory with soul music's joy

In a Minneapolis rehearsal room, a group of Somali musicians gathers in a circle, playing music rooted in the cafés of Mogadishu. The sound is emotional, rhythmic and steeped in memory. It’s called “Somali blues.”

“The lyrics are just showing you what it means,” says Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, the group’s leader. The style is similar to what you might have heard in Somalia before the civil war.

“It is this lugubrious, lamentation [of] love not returned.”

Yusuf and the small outfit — called Ardaa — are rehearsing for an upcoming concert, “Meet You at the Crossroads.” The concert is co-produced by the University of St. Thomas’ Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies and the Cultural Fluency Initiative.

“This is really about the life of the city. There are more cultural groups in the Twin Cities than ever,” said David Jordan Harris, who works with the Jay Phillips Center and curated the concert. “Yet, do we know each other? How do we learn about each other? And you know, no better method than our musical traditions.” 

“Meet You at the Crossroads” will bring together Somali blues and songs inspired by Black gospel music. The idea came from a previous experiment Harris developed with Beck Lee, who runs the Cultural Fluency Initiative. 

“We did sort of a proof of concept concert salon a little while ago where we where we juxtaposed Sephardic music and Somali music,” Lee said. “It was just interesting to be able to experience those two musical cultures and juxtaposition and talk about it.”

This time, Lee and Harris invited Yusuf to lead the Somali music, and JD Steele to bring the Black soul repertoire.

“I love cross-cultural, cross-genre projects, because I've been doing them my entire career,” said Steele, known for his long career in the performing arts, and as a member of the well known family band, The Steeles. 

“Combining multicultural communities, it just excites me.”

Steele will perform with his own band and the MacPhail Community Youth Choir, which he directs. Steele and Yusuf are also collaborating on a new song that the youth choir will sing at the concert.

During rehearsal with the choir, Yusuf said it had been a long time since he’d taken part in something like it.

“The last one that I was [in], was in Somalia,” Yusuf said, adding praise for Steele’s work with the choir. “Seriously, you can see the master in hand.”

As the performances approach, Steele said the goal is simple: to leave people feeling better than when they arrived.

“Because right now, the need for uplifting, encouragement and inspiration is very palpable in our communities. So you know that's our responsibility as artists — is to uplift and inspire and encourage,” Steele said. 

The first concert takes place April 6 at the University of St. Thomas, launching the school’s Culture of Encounter Ideas Festival. Another performance is set for April 27 at St. John’s University in Collegeville.

Correction (April 4, 2025): This story has been updated with the correct name of the concert series.

Correction (April 23, 2025): This story originally misspelled the name of the music group, Ardaa. The story has been updated.