Finding your groove

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Africa is drenched in music – it flows out of car windows, floods through open doorways and drowns out the gossip in bars and clubs. By far the best way to enjoy it, of course, is live. To dip a toe in the water, time your African travels to coincide with one of the continent’s signature festivals, where you’ll be guaranteed some prime performances. Better still, plan an extended trip encompassing several events, and just dive right in. Where to start? Here, Emma Gregg provides you with the lowdown on the best music festivals in Africa. Morocco Festival de Fès des Musiques Sacrées du Monde Where: Fez When: 29 May–6 June 2009 Website: www.fesfestival.com To some outsiders, Fès el Bali, the most complete living medieval city in the world, may seem secretive, hiding its most interesting assets – blue-tiled courtyards, Koranic schools and a lively social scene – behind veils, walls, carved windows and locked gates. But the World Sacred Music Festival is a very open event which offers visitors the opportunity to tap straight into the city’s rich, multi-layered cultural and spiritual life. The festival styles itself as “a beacon of peace from the Islamic world” and draws performers from many different faiths and traditions. The ticketed concerts, held in the palace courtyard of Bab Makina or the wonderful, cedar-scented formal gardens of the Musée Bathar, are glamorous, high-society events, attended by well-groomed locals keen to see and be seen. There’s a daily programme of free events, too, held at dusk in Bab Boujloud, one of the city’s main squares; these are upbeat family occasions attended by enthusiastic crowds of ordinary locals. Late in the evening, people move on to the Dar Tazi Gardens, to sway to hypnotic hadras, traditional Sufi chants. Between performances, you can explore the spice-scented souks, dodge muffled-hoofed donkeys in the winding alleyways and sip mint tea to the call of the muezzin, feeling less of an outsider and more part of the fabric of the town. Festival Gnaoua et Musiques du Monde Where: Essaouira When: June 2009 Website: www.festival-gnaoua.net The richly rhythmic music of the Gnawas (or Gnaouas), a spiritual brotherhood that has its origins in sub-Saharan Africa and melds animist, Berber and Arab influences, is mysterious, hypnotic stuff that can send the musicians spinning (literally) into a trance. During Essaouira’s four-day Gnawa festival the pounding rhythms of drums, reed pipes and castanet-like qaraqebs ring out from Place Moulay Hassan, and lilas (small, intimate music sessions) last long into the night. All are free. Essaouira prides itself on its creative energy; its picturesque lanes and squares, sparkling light and relaxed, tranquil atmosphere attract many painters, woodcarvers and other artisans. Tunisia Festival International du Sahara de Douz Where: Douz    When: Late December 2008 Website: www.festivaldouz.org.tn Around Christmas time, the small, pleasant town of Douz becomes a magnet for Tunisian nomads and desert-dwellers. They have been converging here, on the fringes of the Sahara, since 1910, when the inaugural festival, dubbed La Fête du Dromedaire, featured spirited displays of skilled camel handling. Today, the festival runs for four days, and brings together participants from all over North and West Africa, including belly dancers, camel-racers and traditional drummers in voluminous skirts. There’s also a craft fair, where artisans display delicate silver jewellery and bags, boxes and shoes made from animal hide. When they’re not cheering on the races or browsing the exhibitions, locals settle down to share hubble-bubble pipes and catch up on the gossip. Tanzania Sauti Za Busara, Zanzibar Where: Stone Town   When: 12–17 February 2009 Website: www.busaramusic.org Tanzania swings to a heady mix of musical styles – from traditional taarab and ngoma to funky Swahili hip hop (better known as ‘bongo flava’) – all of which you’ll find here. Founded in 2004, Sauti Za Basura (Sounds of Wisdom) is still a new event, but its relaxed, child-friendly atmosphere has already earned it an enthusiastic following among both Tanzanians and tourists. Stilt walkers and acrobats entertain the crowds between musical acts. South Africa Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Where: Athlone Stadium, Cape Town   When: From 1 January 2009 Website: www.capetownminstrels.co.za Shiny satin suits, multi-coloured face paints, highly polished trumpets, twangy banjos and natty marching drills are the order of the day at Cape Town’s century-old Klopse Kaapse celebrations, run by the city’s black and Malay population. The festival started out as a satirical pageant. In the nineteenth century, troupes (klopse) of former slaves whitened and painted their faces to counter-imitate white American minstrels who used to ‘black-up’ with cork and make-up. Klopse Kaapse songs poked fun at local leaders and current events. Under apartheid, the festival, dubbed the Coon Carnival, was strictly controlled. These days, the carnival is an enormous, all-inclusive event. Every weekend in January, the troupes strut their stuff in a series of parades and concerts, while competition judges weigh up their musical skills, discipline, sartorial brilliance and general showmanship. The festival culminates at the end of the month with a spectacularly colourful jazz parade which spills out into the city streets. To subscribe or buy back issues, click here  A Year of Celebrations Music is woven so tightly into the fabric of African culture that just about every public event is marked by some kind of musical performance, from impromptu jamming sessions to full-blown multi-stage concert programmes. Here’s a complete calendar of the biggest and best to rock the continent. JANUARY SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Minstrel Carnival See page 43. From 1 January. www.capetownminstrels.co.za MALI Festival au Desert See page 37. Essakane, early January. www.festival-au-desert.org MALI Festival sur le Niger See page 38. Ségou, late January or early February. www.festivalsegou.org FEBRUARY CAPE VERDE Carnaval, São Vicente See page 38. Mindelo, mid-February. TANZANIA Sauti Za Busara, Zanzibar See page 41. Stone Town, mid-February. www.busaramusic.com BURKINA FASO Festival Panafricain du Cinema de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) Film festival, also featuring at least two concerts from big names such as Youssou N’Dour and Baaba Maal. Late February in odd-numbered years. www.fespaco.bf MARCH KENYA Maulidi, Lamu See page 41. Dates vary with the Islamic calendar. APRIL SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Jazz Festival See page 43. Late March or early April. www.capetownjazzfest.com SOUTH AFRICA Splashy Fen At the foot of the Southern Drakensberg Mountains, this huge festival featuring the best in South African pop and rock is South Africa’s answer to Glastonbury. Underberg, KwaZulu Natal, Easter weekend. www.splashyfen.co.za NAMIBIA Windhoek Carnival This knees-up, also called Wika, includes a masked ball, parades, concerts and plenty of enthusiastic beer-quaffing. Mid-April. www.skw.com.na/wika MALI Fêtes des Masques, Pays Dogon Masked dancers, some on stilts, take centre stage for a dramatic and colourful performance, in which rival troupes compete against each other to re-enact scenes from tribal history. Purists argue that the spiritual roots of these dances have been corrupted for the benefit of tourists, but you’re still left with the feeling that you’re witnessing an ancient and thrillingly authentic event. Dates vary with the astronomical calendar. ZAMBIA Kuomboka Traditional ceremony of the Lozi people, celebrated at the peak of the Bulozi floods in Barotseland, and heralded by resounding Maoma drumming. Dates vary with the floods. www.barotseland.com ZIMBABWE Harare International Festival for the Arts (HIFA) Draws big-name African and international artists. Late April and early May. www.hifa.co.zw MAY SENEGAL Festival International de Jazz de Saint-Louis See page 38. Late May. www.saintlouisjazz.com MOROCCO Festival de Fès des Musiques Sacrées du Monde See page 34. Fez, late May or early June. www.fesfestival.com JUNE MOROCCO Festival Gnaoua et Musiques du Monde Essaouira, late June. See page 35. www.festival-gnaoua.net THE GAMBIA Roots Festival See page 39. Late June in even-numbered years. www.rootsgambia.gm SOUTH AFRICA National Arts Festival Africa’s largest and grandest arts festival, a ten-day world-class event featuring classical music, jazz, opera, theatre, poetry, cinema and dance. Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, late June or early July. www.nafest.co.za JULY MOROCCO Festival National des Arts Populaires See page 36. Marrakech, mid-July. www.marrakechfestival.com SOUTH AFRICA Bomvu Cultural Drumming Festival Five-day drumming, dance and psychedelic-trance festival, including a drumming marathon, open to all. Coffee Bay, mid-July. www.bomvubackpackers.com TANZANIA Zanzibar International Film Festival Huge ten-day festival which includes many musical events, exhibitions and workshops as well as film screenings. Stone Town, mid-July. www.ziff.or.tz GHANA Panafest See page 39. Late July in odd-numbered years. www.panafest.org AUGUST CAPE VERDE Festival da Baia das Gatas Full moon rock festival on the beach at this tiny (but fast-growing) resort town on the island of São Vicente. Mid-August; dates vary. NIGER Cure Salée / Gerewol The much-photographed male beauty pageants of northwest Niger take place after the rains. Young Fulani men seeking a wife adorn themselves with thick face paint, and then set about displaying their sex appeal through ritual teeth-baring and eyeball-rolling. Visitors don’t have much opportunity to participate, but you’re likely to hear music and see plenty of highly decorated nomads if you’re passing through. Agadez region, August or September; dates vary. SEPTEMBER SOUTH AFRICA Rustlers Valley Festivals Series of music events with a new age vibe, marking the Spring Equinox (around 21 September), Christmas, New Year and Easter. The Rustlers Valley Farm was devastated by a bushfire in 2007 and owner Frik Grobbelaar died in April 2008, but the festival organisers, determined to get back on their feet, are hosting an Equinox event this September. Rustlers Valley, Free State. www.rustlers.co.za SOUTH AFRICA Hermanus Whale Festival The seaside town of Hermanus, an hour and a half’s drive from Cape Town, is South Africa’s self-appointed land-based whale-watching capital. During this five-day festival it pushes the boat out in celebration of the mighty migrating mammals. It’s common for southern right whales to swim so close to shore that you can see them clearly from the cliff paths. The festival programme includes concerts and cabaret nights. Hermanus, Western Cape, late September. www.whalefestival.co.za LIBYA Ghadames Festival Traditional music, with richly costumed dancers and Arabic-style drumming, to accompany rites of passage. September or October. OCTOBER MALAWI Lake of Stars See page 41. Senga Bay, late September or early October. www.lakeofstars.co.uk SEYCHELLES Festival Kreol A colourful, week-long showcase for Seychellois music, dance and cuisine. Late October. NOVEMBER GHANA Hogebetsotso Festival The Anlo Ewes of eastern Ghana pay homage to their mighty chiefs, dressed in colourful royal regalia, with drumming, singing and dancing. Anloga, early November. MALI Diafarabé cattle crossing Every year, once the seasonal grasslands of the northern Sahel have completely dried out, the semi-nomadic Fulani pastoralists of the Malian Sahel congregate at the village of Diafarabé on the banks of the Niger for a ritual river-crossing ceremony. Families are reunited for a precious few days – a time of great celebration and spontaneous music-making. November or December; dates vary. DECEMBER ETHIOPIA Thousand Stars Music Festival Three-day festival of traditional Ethiopian music and dance, deep in the remote Rift Valley. Arba Minch, southern Ethiopia, mid December. www.gughe.org SOUTH AFRICA Mother City Queer Project (MCQP) The beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) people of Cape Town’s gay and lesbian community dress to kill for a glamorous party which takes a different theme each year. Cape Town, mid December. www.mcqp.co.za NIGERIA Oki Festival Fishermen’s festival, in which Kalabari dancers wiggle like fish, turtles and crocodiles to lively drumming. Port Harcourt, 25 December. TUNISIA Festival International du Sahara de Douz See page 36. Douz, late December. www.festivaldouz.org.tn.

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