Fez — Bob Maghrib is taking its reggae-Moroccan fusion back on the road with three concerts in Rabat, Casablanca, and Essaouira after a comeback showcase in Casablanca on April 1.
The project will perform in Rabat on May 15 at Café La Scène inside Cinéma Renaissance. It will then head to Casablanca on May 16 at “L’UZINE – Touria and Abdelaziz Tazi Foundation.”
The tour will close in Essaouira on June 27 at the beach stage of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival.
Bob Maghrib is not a standard Bob Marley tribute. It takes Marley’s songs and rebuilds them through Moroccan instruments and North African musical textures. The result is reggae shaped by guembri, ribab, outar, violin, bass, percussion, and keyboards.
The project performs songs such as “Africa Unite,” “Could You Be Loved,” “Get Up Stand Up,” “Exodus,” and “War.” These songs already carry messages of freedom, resistance, unity, and dignity. Bob Maghrib gives them a Moroccan sound without removing their original spirit.
A Moroccan take on reggae
Bob Maghrib brings together musicians from Morocco’s current music scene. The lineup includes Adil Hanine on drums and vocals, Foulane Bouhssine on ribab, violin, and vocals, Anas Chlih on outar and vocals, Fayçal Moukhtar on bass, Simo Babara on percussion and backing vocals, Mourad Belouadi on guembri and vocals, and Wassim Taghzouti on keyboards and backing vocals.
The sound is built around a direct idea: reggae can meet Moroccan tradition without becoming forced. The guembri gives the bass line a deeper and more organic base. The percussion changes the movement of the groove. The ribab, outar, and violin add sharp melodic colors that are closer to Moroccan folk and Amazigh traditions.
Bob Maghrib is a Moroccan project that blends Jamaican reggae with the musical traditions of the Maghreb. The project grew out of a creative residency launched in 2011.
This gives the group more weight than a simple cover act. Bob Maghrib is closer to a reinterpretation project. It uses familiar songs to open a conversation between Jamaica, Morocco, and Africa.
Three cities, three different stages
The Rabat concert will take place on Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost MAD 90, excluding consumption, and are available through wanaut.com. The event is produced by “Hiba Foundation.”
The Casablanca concert will follow on Saturday, May 16, at 6 p.m. at “L’UZINE.” Tickets cost MAD 30, with free entry for members.
The Essaouira concert will take place on Saturday, June 27, at 10 p.m. on the beach stage. Entry is free. The performance is part of the 27th edition of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival. The festival’s official program also lists Bob Maghrib on June 27 at 10 p.m.
