Morocco’s Essaouira Knaoua Festival opens 27th edition highlighting music as dialogue

The 27th edition of the Knaoua (Gnawa) Festival began with a large opening parade in the historic medina of Essaouira, Morocco, attended by royal councilor André Azoulay, festival director Naïla Tazi and numerous cultural officials.

In her opening remarks, Tazi described music as “a language for dialogue” and said the festival has become a cultural‑humanitarian project that uses diversity as a source of creativity and bridges peoples across continents.

The programme welcomes 43 Gnawa masters from different regions of Morocco and hundreds of artists and musicians from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Arab world. Performances feature traditional drums, qraqeb, hajhouj and colourful processions that showcase the festival’s blend of heritage and contemporary expression.

The event continues its partnership with the Berklee College of Music, now in its third year, offering a training program that brings musicians from 24 countries together to learn, experiment and sustain the Gnawa tradition for future generations.