In August and September, I made a trip to Uganda at the invitation of a close friend. Chinobay is a world-class Ugandan musician who tours internationally, playing traditional instruments that he makes by hand (akogo, ndongo, kora, and many others). He is also the bearer of a huge heart, doing great work to support orphans and internally displaced refugee children from Northern Uganda, as well as opening horizons for children in schools and arts centers across the United States and Europe.
Chinobay and I met at the LEAF festival in North Carolina about 15 years ago. I was about to go on stage when I heard him playing akogo (an African ‘thumb piano’, also called mbira, kalimba, etc.). I had always wanted to hear akogo on my song “Keep the Change”, and I asked him if he would sit in and play on the song. He did, and a long and beautiful friendship began. Over the years, he has occasionally said, “David, you need to come to Uganda!” and when that conversation came up again last winter, I replied, “If this is ever going to happen, we just need to get our calendars out and put the dates on there.” We did, and in late August, I finally went to Uganda.
It was a magical trip (check out some photos here). Among other adventures, we co-wrote and recorded a song, Kirungi, while there. The song is still not released, but we are both very excited about it. We recorded with an eight-piece band of mostly Ugandan musicians, a few from Congo (DRC), and this one bald White guy from the U.S.
Part of the reason Chinobay wanted me to come to Uganda was to ask for my input on beginning trips to Uganda for folks to come see the work he is doing there, meet some extraordinary kids, and also enjoy the unique experiences that Uganda can offer — safari parks to see African animals in the wild, the source of the Nile river, drum-making and dance workshops, great food, and lots of live African music, etc. The non-profit I founded with Deanna in Guatemala has been doing trips since 2018, and Kinobe wants to start doing something similar. After lots of conversation, we decided to do a trip to Uganda together — and right away! We will be there from February 1 to 15, 2026, and you are invited.
Here is the link to the page with more details: Uganda Trip 2026 After looking through the details, there is a link to an application that you can fill out. Applying is not a commitment to go, but it’s helpful for us to know that you are seriously considering it.
Thanks for being interested! If you’d like to come join us and you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. It’s going to be an amazing experience, and we hope you can join us!
Cheers,
David
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