Essaouira Gnaoua Festival Concludes 27th Edition

The 27th edition of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco, closed on Saturday night after three days of performances that blended traditional Gnaoua music with sounds from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Arab world.

Maâlem Hamid El Kasri headlined the final concert on the Moulay El Hassan stage, delivering a powerful vocal and guembri performance. A notable moment was his collaboration with Brazilian percussionist Carlinhos Brown, merging Gnaoua chants with Brazilian rhythms. The closing program also featured a collective creation involving Maâlem Hassan Boussou and artists such as Alexandre Herichon, Mohamed Derouich, Jacques Schwarz Bart, Cheikh Ndoye, Karim Ziad and Meryem Assid.

The festival gathered 43 Gnaoua maâlems from across the Kingdom and hundreds of international musicians. In addition to concerts, the 13th edition of the Human Rights Forum focused on youth, freedom, identity and the future, bringing together researchers, writers, artists and journalists. Educational initiatives continued with the third‑year "Berklee at the Gnaoua" program and a partnership with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University’s Chair of Transitions, promoting research on Gnaoua culture and its contemporary expressions.