Upcoming Moroccan Festivals

Another big event this year in Marrakech. The Oasis Festival is back for a third edition, from the 14th to 17th of September, bringing together the best of the national and international electronic music scene

For its third edition, the biggest festival of electronic music of Morocco provides a rich and varied programme. This year, the organisers have appealed to an array of world-renowned artists, such as the great Richie Hawtin, known for his taste for technological innovation, and the American-Chilean musician, Nicolas Jaar, who, since its inception, has traced line of sophisticated electronic music.

In a very short time, the Oasis festival allowed Morocco to become a long-term player on the map of the festival destinations, and, faithful to its vocation, the festival continues to participate in the emergence of the Moroccan electronic scene, with the participation of founding father Unes, rising star, Jaza, and the new ambassador of Moroccan electronic music, Amine K and many others.

For the organisers, the 2017 edition is the most impressive in terms of programming since the creation of the festival in 2015. For this year they decided to add an extra day with the official opening party taking place on Thursday September 14th, when the popular Solomun will make his first Moroccan appearance.

The Tanjazz Festival will rock Tangier from the 14th to 17th of September. After paying tribute to the women of jazz during its previous edition, it is the turn of young talent to shine in the spotlight

To celebrate its 18th anniversary, there will be five musical stages with more than 120 singers and musicians during the 55 concerts.

"We wanted to introduce the public to the new voices of jazz, which will perhaps be the headliners of tomorrow," says Philippe Lorin, director of the Tanjazz festival. These are, nevertheless, confirmed artists that Lorin, also artistic director of the event, went to look for in different festivals in the world. "I could listen to these artists by traveling, receiving applications, but also by browsing the web, like everyone else," he says.

Spectators will be able to dance to the rhythm of New Orleans thanks to a rich program and artists from here and elsewhere, such as the 18-year-old Spanish trumpeter and singer Rita Payès, who will open the ball on stage at the BMCI Palais, the Croatian pianist and singer Daniel Čačija, and the quartet by Janis Peruzzi, whose composition combines the rhythms of jazz with oriental sounds.

Other artists are expected, among others, to be headliners, the composer and interpreter of Moroccan-Syrian origin, Samia Tawil, with influences both RnB and funk, the Austrian duo Michaela Rabitsch and Robert Pawlik, Nicolle Rochelle  and Hot Antic Jazz Band and many others.

While the Jazz is appreciated by the Moroccan public and is at the core of two other major festivals in Morocco, the Jazzablanca festival in the economic capital and the Jazz at the Chellah in Rabat, it remains, nevertheless, very little played by the local musicians. Tanjazz's artist list includes only two artists of Moroccan origin (Samia Tawil and Teema) this year.

Oujda hosts the 4th Blouza Festival

The Blouza is a costume or dress originally, from the town of Tlemcen. The blouza (strangely) resembles the low-cut dresses and cuffs of Joséphine, the wife of Napoleon I. Some claim its design was a way of paying tribute to the Emperor, who for a time thought of emancipating the natives from the French colonies, La blouza is traditionally worn by married and middle-aged women. It is long and sewn in one piece or two. It is curved at the waist, is worn with short sleeves, the décolleté and the back are worked in pearls and traditional refined embroideries sewn on to form the part covering the whole chest. Today it is widespread and very popular in the cities of the Orientale region of Morocco, specifically in Oujda

The 4th edition of the Blouza Festival will take place from the 7th to 10th of September in Oujda on the initiative of the Eastern Association for Development (AOD), under the theme "Blouza, a cultural tributary of the western Mediterranean"

Initiated in partnership with the Oriental Development Agency, the 4th edition of this cultural event, which aims to perpetuate the heritage of the region, and  to encourage stylists to innovate and to produce quality works.

To highlight the Mediterranean anchorage of culture and heritage of the Kingdom, this edition will be marked by the presence of Moroccan and foreign specialists in the field, giving them the opportunity to discover, according to the AOD, "the intrinsic ties of our common heritage and thus bring an international dimension to our Festival ".

"This Festival will also be an opportunity to promote the work of craftswomen in order to create income-generating activities through the creation of cooperatives and thus highlight the specificities of the Oriental in the framework of advanced regionalisation advocated by the Kingdom" - AOD

The program of the Festival includes discussions on the festival theme, stands to exhibit and market artisan products, and a fashion show that will highlight the work of stylists and craftsmen and women.

"A few decades ago, the Oujdie woman and the Oriental in general were proud to conceive their Blouza themselves and to shape it under different cuts and models. This is the main reason why the Blouza has become a heritage, "says the President of the AOD

He added that the Blouza Oujdia, which had almost been put away in the antique shops and disappeared, is regaining its titles of nobility, thanks to the efforts made in particular in the framework of this event, which made it possible to reinforce the concept Blouza and promote this traditional dress of the city of Oujda and the Region.

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