Agadir's Timitar Festival 2016

 The 13th Timitar Festival will take place from the 13th to 16th of July 2016 in Agadir. The official poster for the Festival was unveiled this week

If past festivals are any guide, it is expected that there will be at least forty local and international artists perrforming for an audience of up to 500,000 in attendance.

Daoudia at 2015 festival

Not only is the festival one of the biggest in the country, it has established itself as one the premiere African music festivals.

Yet, despite its success, it has never strayed from its initial goal of promoting the Amazigh (Berber) culture of the Souss Massa Drâa. The district council of Agadir Under Massa Draâ initiated the Timitar Festival to act as a meeting between Amazigh artists and world musicians.

Last year saw appearances by Moroccan artists Stati, Hindi Zahra, Aït Laati, Daoudia and Fatima Tihihit, as well as more contemporary alternative music from N3rdistan.

International acts included Diana Haddad, Rabih Abou Khalil, Vieux Farka Touré, Bashar Khalife and the singing minister of culture of Cape Verde, Mario Lucio.

The five-note scale of the Souss music pulls the audience in with riffs that range from trance-inducing beauty to pure funk. It is a delight, even for those who can not understand the Tashelhit language or Moroccan Darija.

The festival's permanent theme is “signs and cultures” - and for this edition the audience can expect a healthy dose of both.

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