Mali is considered the cradle of jazz and blues, which black slaves brought with them to the cotton fields of America. Traditional music has held Mali's society together for centuries. But Mali's music is in danger. Radical Islamists are introducing Sharia law in the north of the country, banning dancing and secular music, destroying instruments and threatening musicians. Many musicians fear for their lives and flee the region around Timbuktu and Kidal. But Islamist terror has now spread to other parts of Mali. UN war operations continue to intensify, and the German Bundeswehr has also been deployed for three years, now also in the dangerous north of the country. The film MALI BLUES tells the stories of four musicians who do not want to accept hatred, mistrust and violence in their country and a radical interpretation of Islam. Neither in Mali, nor anywhere else in the world. International shooting star Fatoumata Diawara, ngoni virtuoso and traditional griot Bassekou Kouyaté, young rapper Master Soumy and virtuoso guitarist Ahmed Ag Kaedi, leader of the Tuareg band Amanar - they all have one thing in common: their music connects, comforts, heals and gives people the strength for change, for a common future in peace.