With its 25th edition, exceptional in more ways than one, the Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival confirms its stature as a festival of international stature.
The event, which today holds an important place in the calendar of festivals most recommended by the international press, closed on Saturday June 29, under the signs of communion, sharing, debate, and, of course, world music, which finds in Essaouira one of the most important laboratories for the renewal of musical expression across the continent. More than 400 musical artists from 14 countries, including Morocco, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, the United States, Senegal, and Palestine, rubbed shoulders with the 40 or so Gnaoua mâalems, undisputed masters of the festival, for timeless moments of rare beauty, transporting the audience between audacious fusions and rhythms in the purest Gnaoua tradition. With some 50 concerts scheduled, world music resonated far beyond the city walls. It was an exceptional edition, first and foremost for its audience, who came in droves from the four corners of the globe. A joyful, festive public. More than 300,000 festival-goers strolled between Place Moulay El Hassan, the beach stage, Borj Bab Marrakech and the more intimate venues of Dar Souiri, Bayt Dakira and Zaoui Issaouia.
Audiences were also happy to extend the festivities in the narrow streets of the medina, under the ramparts and in the city’s squares, between musical happenings, improvised jams and showcases. The traditional parade set the tone with its procession of sounds and colors, leading festival-goers to an explosive opening concert featuring the maalems Hassan Boussou and Moulay El Tayeb, Brazilian Batucada, Spanish flamenco, and Zaouli from Côte d’Ivoire.Another exceptional fusion on the evening of Friday June 28, when Maâlem Mohamed Koyou joined forces with percussionist Rhani Krija, who has played with the likes of Sting, Herbie Hancok and Al Di Meola, and Frenchman Jon Grnadcamp, who draws his inspiration from African music. A trio accompanied by the ascetic playing of HBS Trumpet and the haunting melodies of Kike Perdomo’s saxophone and the master of the electric guitar, Malian Guimba Kouyaté. An audacious and rigorous concert. This performance preceded the eagerly-awaited concert by Palestinian band Saint Levant, which drew a crowd of nearly 50,000 to the Moulay El Hassan Square. The beach stage also provided its share of exceptional moments, with an explosive concert featuring the South African group BCUC and Maalem Tariq Ait Hmiti. On Saturday, it was the turn of the group Labes, authors of the famous hit «BabourLouh», to bring together a very compact audience on the same stage, for a groovy version of Chaabi-Algerian music. Meanwhile, in the Place Moulay El Hassan, the powerful voice of Buika rang out, blending the soul of flamenco with the depth of jazz.
A.Bo
