The African roots of Appalachian banjo music will be explored at the spring World Music Center concert Thursday, April 13, in the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center.

Bob Carlin and Cheick Hamala Diabate will be the guest artists for the concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre. The program,From Africa to Appalachia,will feature the American banjo and the African ngoni, an instrument that is the ancestor of the American banjo.

Directed by Gordon Nunn, the program will also feature ensembles from the World Music Center at WVU , including the WVU Steel Band and Steel Combo, the WVU African Ensemble and the WVU Taiko (Japanese drum) Ensemble. Also appearing will be Ellie Mannette, who is artist-in-residence at WVU and widely known as the father of the steel drum instrument.

Carlin previously toured throughout the United States and Canada with songwriter John Hartford until Hartford’s death in 2001. Since then, he has returned to solo performing and appearing with other musicians.

Over the years, he has studied the African roots of the American banjo and most recently he joined forces with Diabate, who is from Mali. Their performances combine the history of the banjo with West African music, African-American banjo styles, minstrels of the 1840s and 1850s, Southernold-timebanjo playing and John Hartford’s music.

Diabate is recognized as one of the top ngoni players living today. From the age of 12, he studied at the National Institute of Arts in Bamako, Mali’s capital. After completing his studies, he began an international performing career, traveling throughout Africa, Europe, Asia and Canada. He also recorded for German record labels.

In 1995, Diabate migrated to the United States, where he continued to perform within the Malian community for public and private celebrations. He has appeared at the National Museum of African Art, the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at colleges and universities throughout the country.

Tickets for the World Music Concert are $7 for adults and $5 for students. For more information, call the WVU Box Office at (304) 293-SHOW.