Nuits d’Afrique: Montreal’s pre-eminent African music festival moves to the beat of its own drum

After twenty-five years of serving Montrealers a heavy dose of African music from around the world, the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique has taken its rightful place at the top of the North American heap.

The last several years have seen the festival battle exterior programming forces for the top names in the game, but this special anniversary edition rights the ship. Over thirty indoor concerts andfour days of free concerts will see some of the biggest, brightest rising stars of the genre, among them: godfather Manu Dibango, the Jimi Hendrix-inspired desert rocker Bombino (pictured), Haitian goddess Emeline Michel, the beats of Makadem, Dutch percussion guru Lucas Van Merwijk’s Music Machine, the Latin funk of Grupo Fantasma and the legendary Malian voice of Oumou Sangaré.

With workshops, a children’s village and the Tombouctou market also on tap, there is literally something for the whole family.

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique
July 12-24
www.festivalnuitsdafrique.com