After a three-year absence imposed by the pandemic, the Gnaoua World Music Festival has gloriously returned to the city of Essaouira. Thousands of festival-goers from all over the world flocked, on Thursday evening, to Bab Doukkala to attend the much-awaited event and its captivating opening parade.
The Festival, hosted from June 22nd to 24th, honors the richness and complexity of Gnaoua music, alongside a range of other world music genres. The enchanting sounds of the guembri and the crotales merge seamlessly with many others different melodies, combining jazz, flamenco, reggae, salsa, and Tuareg or Tamul rhythms.
Minister of Culture Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, also present at the festival, said that “Gnaoua Festival is of interest mainly for locals. Today thanks to Gnaoua, the city is witnessing an economic and social revival”, reported RFI.
The opening concert featured the Tambours of Burundi Amagaba, the American saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, Moroccan singer Sanaa Amravati, and the Maâlems Mohamed and Saïd Kouyou.