Moroccan music festival to pay tribute to Amazigh culture

The southern Moroccan city of Agadir will host the ninth edition of the Timitar Music Festival which will pay tribute to Amazigh music and culture.

The festival, which will take place on June 27-30, aims at acquainting the audience with Amazigh music, taking the culture to an international level by hosting a wide variety of singers who represent different dialects and music styles.

Performers at the Timitar festival will showcase bands, including Izenzaren, and singers such as Raissa Fatima Tihihit, Aicha Tashinwit, and Ammouri Mbarek. The festival will also pay tribute to famous late Amazigh singer Mohamed Rouicha.

The event does not only aim at allowing Amazigh music and culture to gain maximum exposure, but also supporting both young and famous Amazigh artists, said Khaled Bazid, head of the Timitar Music Festival.

“We help Amazigh artists release their albums,” he told Al Arabiya. “We did that with the famous band Izenzaren, who have been away from the music scene for 22 years but the festival has brought them back to their fans.”

Festival art director Ibrahim al-Maznad said that Timitar, throughout the years, has managed to live up to its slogan: “Amazighs celebrate with world music.”

“We made this come true through inviting hundreds of artists from all over world to take part in the event with their Amazigh counterparts,” he said.

What makes Timitar different from other music events in Morocco is the way it shifted from being regional to more international, Maznad added.

“The festival started in the Sous region in the south of Morroco then became international years after and the albums it released were sold all over Europe and Asia.”

In addition to Moroccan artists, performers from Algeria, France, the United States, Angola, South Korea, Niger and Colombia will also take part in the festival.

Among the festival’s special performers are Iraqi singer Kazem al-Saher, Guinean singer Mori Conte, and American band Earth, Wind, and Fire.

The number of artists who are set to perform at the Timitar Music Festival has reached 400.


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)