Berlin’s Sonic Pluriverse Festival 2026 Spotlights Gnawa Music in Five-Week Program

The 2026 Sonic Pluriverse Festival will place Gnawa music at the center of a five-week program at the rooftop terrace of Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), running from June 26 to August 1.

Under the theme Global Echoes of Gnawa, the festival will present concerts, DJ sets, film screenings, panel discussions, and workshops that examine Gnawa as a transcultural musical and spiritual practice.

Curated by Alaa Zouiten, the program explores the historical connections between Gnawa traditions and regions affected by migration, diaspora, and cultural exchange. While Gnawa developed within North and West African contexts and the wider Mediterranean, its influence also extends to Afro-diasporic communities in Latin America and beyond.

Throughout five weekends, each festival day will begin with a Gnawa ensemble performance before expanding into related musical traditions, including Flamenco, Tarantella, and Desert Blues. In addition, the festival will host workshops focused on sound and dance practices.

The discussion program will examine links between Gnawa and Yoruba spiritual traditions, as well as their presence in transatlantic cultural forms such as Candomblé and Lucumí. Another panel will explore neuroscientific perspectives on rhythm-induced trance states.

Performers scheduled to appear include Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou, Baaba Maal & Daande Leñol, Bab L’Bluz, Garifuna Collective, Gnawa Diffusion, Justin Adams and Mauro Durante with special guest Alessia Tondo, Majid Bekkas and Bassekou Kouyaté, Mehdi Nassouli, Moonlight Benjamin, and Vieux Farka Touré, among others.

DJ Sets by: Kabylie Minogue, Kawtar Sadik, saHHar, Zine & Siroko – Trance Ritual (B2B)

Design: Studio Yukiko

Program

Fri., 26.6.
Parade, Concert, DJ Set
17:00–19:15 Gnawa Parade & Konzert: Hicham Bilali & Black Koyo a.o.
19:30–21:00 Vieux Farka Touré
21:00–23:00 DJ Set saHHar

Sat., 27.6.
Workshop
15:00–16:30 Gnawa for All
with Maalem Hicham Bilali

Panel Discussion, Sonic Press Conference
17:00–18:30 Routes & Roots: The Shared Legacy of Gnawa and Transatlantic Yoruba Culture

Concerts, DJ Set
19:00–20:00 Justin Adams & Mauro Durante with special guest: Alessia Tondo
20:30–22:00 Majid Bekkas & Bassekou Kouyaté
22:00–00:00 DJ Set Zine & Siroko – Trance Ritual (B2B)

Thur., 2.7.
Concert
19:30–21:00 Baaba Maal & Daande Leñol

Film Screenings, Conversation
21:00–23:00 Gnaouas | Gnawa Music – Corps et Âme
with Izza Gémini

Sat., 4.7.
Panel Discussion
17:00–18:30 Faiths Intertwined

Concerts, DJ Set
18:00–19:00 Aficionado – Flamenco Moro
19:15–20:00 Aly Keïta Trio
20:30–22:00 Hassan Boussou
22:00–00:00 DJ Set Kabylie Minogue

Fri., 10.7.
Concert
19:30–21:00 Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou

Film Screening
21:00–22:30 La Nuit de la Possession—La Lila de Derdeba

Sat., 11.7.
Workshop
15:00–16:30 Gnawa Dance
with Asmaa Hamzaoui

Panel Discussion
17:00–18:30 Neural Rhythms of Trance

Concerts, DJ Set
19:00–20:15 Moonlight Benjamin
20:45–22:00 Bab L’Bluz
22:00–00:00 DJ Set Kawtar Sadik

Fri., 17.7.
Lecture
18:00–19:00 Introduction to the Lila
with Maalem Hicham Bilali, Mqaddma Souad and Alaa Zouiten

Concerts
19:00–20:00 Mehdi Nassouli
20:30–22:00 Gnawa Diffusion

Film Screening
22:00–23:30 Transes / Al-Hal (الحال)

Ritual, Music
23:00–05:00 Lila with Maalem Mustapha Sam & Mqaddma Souad & Maalem Hicham Bilali
Veranstaltungsort: SAVVY Contemporary, Reinickendorfer Straße 17, 13347 Berlin-Wedding

Sat., 1.8.
Concert
19:30–21:00 Garifuna Collective

Tickets available now via hkw.de/tickets
Concerts 24€ / reduced 20€ (evening ticket)
Children up to and including 10 years old free entry
DJs, Panels, Talks, Films, Workshops free entry

More information at: www.hkw.de/en/programme/sonic-pluriverse-festival-global-echoes-of-gnawa