This just in: The Mawazine Festival has revealed its 2018 lineup, and, judging by the artists set to perform, this year’s Moroccan festival is not one to miss. The hotly anticipated music event is returning with a five-star line-up, with performances set to take place in Rabat from June 22 to 30.
Headliners hitting one of the nine stages include four-time Grammy winner, The Weeknd. The Canadian hitmaker (born Abel Tesfaye) will be joining fellow artist and close friend French Montana (the two are so close that Tesfaye gifted him a US $100,000 Patek Philippe watch for his birthday), who is of Moroccan descent. French Montana, whose real name is Karim Kharbouch, frequents his motherland occasionally, and recently shot the music video for Famous in the northwestern Moroccan city Chefchaouen, where he grew up.
The other acts rounding out the list of headliners are Bruno Mars, performing in the wake of his 2018 Grammy Awards sweep, and The Chainsmokers, whose debut album Memories… Do Not Open is officially the third longest-running album on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. They will be hitting the stage alongside ’90s British funk band Jamiroquai, who just came back from a seven-year hiatus this year.
Other noteworthy acts include Lebanese superstars Nancy Ajram and Marwan Khoury, Algerian group Babylone, Emirati singer Ahlam, French rapper Niska, Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, and Belgium rapper Damso.
Established in 2001, the annual Mawazine Festival has become one of the most highly anticipated music festivals in North Africa, hosting approximately 2.5 million concert-goers each year. Organized by Maroc Cultures, the nine-day festival aims to unite musical talent from all points of the globe. Tickets for the festival are currently on sale, and can be purchased online.
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