Fez — Moroccan singer Asma Lmnawar will perform at the “Mawazine – Rhythms of the World” festival on June 22 taking the Nahda stage in Rabat during the festival’s 21st edition.
The concert places one of Morocco’s most recognizable contemporary voices at the heart of a festival known for bringing together Moroccan, Arab, African, and international artists. Mawazine’s 2026 edition is scheduled to run from June 19 to 27 in Rabat and Sale.
Lmnawar’s appearance is expected to draw a broad audience of Moroccan and Arab music fans, particularly as the Nahda stage has long served as one of Mawazine’s main spaces for Arabic music.
Mawazine lists Nahda among its major stages, alongside OLM Souissi, Sale, Bouregreg, Chellah, and the Mohammed V National Theater.
A Moroccan voice with Arab reach
Born in Casablanca, Asma Lmnawar has built a career defined by range, control, and emotional interpretation. Her label biography describes her as a Moroccan singer and songwriter born on July 25, 1978, who began her musical career in the late 1990s and gained wide popularity across the Arab world.
Her artistic identity rests on movement between musical languages. She sings Moroccan songs with a local emotional charge, but she is also known for her ability to perform oriental and khaliji repertoires with fluency.
That versatility has helped her reach listeners in Morocco, North Africa, the Gulf, and the wider Middle East. It has also made her one of the Moroccan artists most capable of carrying the country’s musical identity into broader Arab spaces.
Lmnawar first appeared on stage in 1995 through “Angham,” a national television production, and later recorded soundtracks for Moroccan films. Mawazine’s own artist biography notes that Egypt became an important turning point in her career, with the Cairo Opera House opening doors for her before the release of her first album “Wanari” in 2002.
Mawazine continues building its 2026 lineup
The announcement adds another major Moroccan name to a program already mixing genres and audiences.
Reports on the 2026 edition have named artists including Ninho, Major Lazer, Nicky Jam, Tamer Hosny, Mayada El Hennawy, Hassan Shakosh, Oumou Sangaré, Pongo, Imany, Hatim Ammor, and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
