![West African guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke was featured on Applause Performances [ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/03d7d79/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1687+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F2%2F27%2Flionel.jpg)
West African guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke began his musical career as a singer and percussion player.
At the age of 17, however, he picked up the guitar in his home country of Benin.
Now he's a world-renowned musician who's performed with Herbie Hancock, Santana, Sting and Norah Jones.
Earlier today he performed music on Applause Performances before his concert at Nighttown in Cleveland Heights.
