Casa Music festival delights visitors
2008-07-22
The fourth Casa Music festival held from July 17th-20th was a huge success. For four days the festival lit up the night atmosphere of the largest districts of Morocco’s economic capital.
By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 22/07/08
 [Hassan Benmehdi] Casablanca turned out in large numbers over the weekend for the fourth annual Casa Music festival. Highlights included a fireworks show and star musicians from Lebanon and the United States. |
The fourth annual Casa Music festival, held July 17th-20th in Casablanca, brought entertainment to some 2 million spectators in Morocco's economic capital. This year, Moroccan and foreign artists representing a variety of musical genres performed at twelve different public venues.
The organisers – the Forum Casablanca association and Casablanca city authorities – said all the necessary ingredients came together to make the fourth festival an unforgettable event.
Artistic director Mohamed Abkari said this year's success owes to the richness of the programme, adding that this year's festival extended beyond the city of Casablanca.
"Mohammedia, Mediouna, Nouacer and la Villa des Arts are all new venues added to last year's four venues," he said. "Our aim was to expand the festival to reach out to a larger number of people."
Forum Casablanca President Ahmed Ammour said this year's festival offered a total of eight open-air venues for music and four more for break-dancing. Casa Music 2008 brought some 400 performers together for 60 concerts, a break-dance competition, a special opening night performance and a closing-night fireworks show, Ammour told the press.
Many Casablanca residents turned out for concerts by Moroccan and foreign singers. Afifa and his girlfriend Nada, both in their early twenties, told Magharebia that the festival gave them an opportunity to forget their exam worries and have fun.
"We're here to see Myriam Faris who we really love, and we'd like to thank the organisers who invited this terrific Lebanese singer."
For her part, Myriam Faris told the press on Sunday (July 20th) that she was "thrilled to be singing in Casablanca for a public I respect and love very much." She then offered a surprise to her fans in the Maghreb, announcing that her upcoming album will include a song in Moroccan dialect.
Ahmed Bilal used the festival as an opportunity to get his family out for some air.
"I brought my kids with me," he said. "I wanted to see pop singers Daoudi and Stati and also the American group Earth, Wind and Fire. My children wanted to see Myriam Faris, Darga, and H-Kayne."
During a Friday press conference, Earth, Wind and Fire said their visit to Casablanca reminded them of their African roots, as well as "rhythms which blend perfectly with our style of music".
Among the high-profile singers in attendance this year were Rachida Talal, Hayat Idrissi, King Barra, Ganga Vibes, Abdelaziz Setati, Maalem Abdenbi, Barry, Mazagane, H-Kayne, Seun Kuti, Burning Spear, Cheb Ryan, and Jimmy Oihid, together with Five Star and Southside Johnny from the United States.
The closing night of the festival on Sunday featured a dazzling fireworks show by the coast, with hundreds of thousands of people of different ages and nationalities enjoying a spectacular show of lights, colours and rhythms of varying intensities and shapes.
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حسن بوبكر مناش Posted 2008-07-23
Morocco just needs more fun so that everything becomes art. Festivals are important but they must be extended to all the cities. They are also part of art and has art. Girls and boys. The promiscuity of the two sexes reflects the progress of the country in art and urbanization. Art is one of the characteristics of the progress of nations. Many nations have made progress and advanced thanks to art. So there is no need to be confined to oneself or think about behaviour. All Moroccans should defy values. Values without value cannot be values. We must prove to the world that we were created for life and life based on art. This festival, although it is successful according to the respectable Abkari, was missing many figures and stars of the Red and white Indians, Armenians, Charkas… so that it becomes international. Internationality means the profusion and variety of figures. We hope that this festival won’t be restricted to the summer period. It should cover all seasons of the year. Suez Canal was built thanks to art. It is the same for the pyramids. Without music, they wouldn’t have been built. Even the skyscrapers in America were built by art. But unfortunately they were destroyed by minds which don’t appreciate art and consider it an evil from the work of Satan. However, when we confuse the act of Satan and the act of man we enter different accounts. Maybe we will get lost and go far from reason. It is better that we stay with art and live for art. Only the artists win. Our “bright” history confirms this. It was even said that Abou Naouas was an artist. This is why his era was a golden age. The culture of boys was thriving during his era. This means that Abou Naouas had preceded with centuries the west which boasts of secularism. He had even influenced the era of Haron Arrachid, if I am not mistaken. He had even influenced the fanaticism of Ouassil Ibn Ata sheikh Al Moutazila.
امين Posted 2008-07-31
Any festival in Morocco which is not attended by Cheb Bilal isn’t called a festival. When Cheb Bilal is invited in Casablanca or Oujda, he attracts more fans than any other singer. Thank you.
NASRO Posted 2008-08-01
Bring Cheb Nasro.
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