Casablanca – From June 25-27, Essaouira will once again come alive with the Gnaoua World Music Festival, marking its 27th edition. This year’s program was unveiled today during a press conference held at Le Casablanca hotel.
The event brought together Neila Tazi, founder of the festival, Driss El Yazami, president of CCME, as well as artistic directors Abdeslam Alikkane and Karim Ziad. Each highlighted a program shaped around encounters, exchange, and cross-cultural musical experimentation.
What defines this edition is its strong focus on dialogue between artists from different backgrounds, all converging on the same stages in Essaouira.
This year’s lineup will bring together musicians from Lebanon, Cameroon, Brazil, the United States, India, Ethiopia, Palestine, and Morocco, setting the tone for three days of unforgettable live moments.
In an exclusive interview with MWN Lifestyle, Neila Tazi emphasized that the festival becomes a bigger cultural institution each year, highlighting that it helps promoting the know-how of Morocco in terms of cultural and creative industries all over the world and it hosts people that visit us from all over the world.
A shared stage for global voices
This edition offers a space where Gnaoua tradition connects with artists from across the world in fluid, organic ways.
The festival is structured around original collaborations between Gnaoua Maâlems and international talents, where tradition is not presented as fixed heritage, but as a living language that adapts and transforms through dialogue.
The opening will be marked by the traditional parade of the Gnaoua Maâlems.
It will then give way to the first major concert on the Moulay Hassan stage, where Mehdi Nassouli will be joined by I Buhoro, Sara Moullablad, Ganavya, and Sylvain Barou in a collective performance bringing together Rwanda, Morocco, India, and France.
Richard Bona will appear in a special set alongside Asmae Lmnawar, combining jazz influences with African musical memory.
From his end, Hamid El Kasri will join Carlinhos Brown in a Morocco-Brazil encounter rooted in rhythm and exchange.
Across the city, the festival will host more than 400 artists and 42 Maâlems, with a diverse roaster that includes 47SOUL, Yasmine Hamdan, Hoba Hoba Spirit, Oudaden, and the Harlem Spirit of Gospel by Anthony Morgan.
Beyond performances, this edition will also feature a tribute to the late Maâlem Mustapha Baqbou, who passed away in 2025, leaving behind a lasting legacy within the Gnaoua tradition that continues to echo across the Moroccan musical landscape.
For this tribute, Maâlem Abdeslam Alikkane, Hamza Baqbou, Maâlem Abdelkebir Merchane, and Maâlem Mohamed Kouyou will gather on stage for a collective moment of remembrance.
From music to awareness
Gnaoua festival will also include its Human Rights Forum, creating a space for dialogue, under the theme “Youth of the World: Freedom, Identity, Future.”
Over two days, figures from culture, politics, and academia will come together to reflect on the realities shaping younger generations today.
The discussion will include Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Rachid Benzine, Leïla Slimani, Raphaël Liogier, and Asmae El Moudir.
At the same time, the festival continues its commitment to transmission, with the Berklee program returning for a third edition.
The six-day residency will bring together emerging and professional musicians from different countries.
As the festival continues to evolve, it remains rooted in the idea of encounter, where tradition is constantly reshaped through dialogue and experimentation.
It is this spirit of openness to risk and reinvention that has defined Essaouira’s identity for nearly three decades.“We take some risk, but this is the essence, this is the magic of Essaouira, of the festival,” said Karim Ziad to MWN.
Read also: Fez to Host Musical Generations & Cultures Festival
