Cesária Évora Orchestra

(CV)

More than a voice, Cesária Évora was - and still is - a symbol of Cape Verdean soul around the world. Since her departure in December 2011 at the age of 70, the so-called ‘Barefoot Diva’ has left a void that is difficult to fill. But she also left behind an immortal repertoire that echoes far beyond the Cape Verde islands. In 2012, in a wave of emotion that spread far and wide, thousands of admirers paid tribute to her in emotional concerts in cities such as Lisbon, Paris, Amsterdam and Toulouse. Alongside the musicians who accompanied her throughout her life, artists such as Bonga, Angélique Kidjo, Lura, Ismaël Lô, Mayra Andrade, Bernard Lavilliers and Tito Paris came together to remember the woman who took morna to new stages and audiences.

It was precisely from this collective impulse that the Cesária Évora Orchestra was born - a project formed by members of the singer's original band, determined to keep the artist's memory and repertoire alive. The premiere took place in 2014 at the Gamboa Festival in the city of Praia, and since then the Orchestra has been a regular presence on international stages, with concerts that are both celebration and evocation, featuring renowned talents such as Lura, Nancy Vieira, Lucibela, Elida Almeida or Teofito Chantre, among many other internationally recognised talents. More than a tribute, Cesária Évora is an extension of the singer's legacy. With a line-up that crosses generations and geographies, it continues to revisit, with respect and freshness, the themes that made Cesária one of the great ambassadors of Lusophony - from ‘Sodade’ to ‘Petit Pays’ - keeping alive a heritage that transcends borders and will stand the test of time.

The Congos & The Gladiators

(JM)

Some say that a Congos concert is more than just music - it's a spiritual experience. And that's no exaggeration. Cedric Myton, Ashanti Roy, Watty Burnett and Talash (the most recent member) have kept the roots reggae. roots reggae flame alive with the same essential line-up since the 1970s, a rarity on the Jamaican music scene. The group's cohesion is felt on stage, where each performance is conducted like a true Rastafári spiritualitymarked by vocal harmonies that have become iconic. The Congos' identity was consolidated in 1977 with 'Heart of the Congos', a mythical album produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry at the legendary Black Ark studios - a record that rightly ranks among the absolute milestones of reggaeTracks like ‘La La Bam Bam’, ‘Congo Man’ or the unforgettable ‘Fisherman’ (named by Rolling Stone as one of the ten best reggae reggae songs ever) revealed to the world a group with a distinctive sound, guided by rasta spirituality and an unwavering commitment to their roots.

Founded in 1967 by Albert Griffiths, the Gladiators were inspired early on by the struggle and resistance symbolised in the film Ben-Hur. This metaphor echoed naturally among the rasta community and in songs like ‘Roots Natty’ or ‘Bongo Red’, which became anthems of 70s roots reggae. But it was with'Trenchtown Mix Up' (1976), released by Virgin, that they achieved international prominence, performing alongside Toots & the Maytals, U-Roy and Jimmy Cliff in Europe and the United States. Now, decades later, Congos and Gladiators are crossing paths for a joint tour that promises not only to celebrate the legacy of classic reggae, reggae but also to reaffirm its relevance and vitality. For those who still believe that music can be an act of faith and resistance.

Balqeis Live

(EG)

Born in Cairo, Balqeis Aboomar - artistically known as BalQeis - is one of the most intriguing figures in the new wave of artists from the Arab world. A virtuoso oud player, composer and multi-instrumentalist, she has made a name for herself over the last decade with a unique career that crosses traditional Middle Eastern music with contemporary languages such as electronica, rock and alternative music. The oud, the instrument of choice in Arabic music, entered BalQeis' life at the age of 12, in a family environment that valued the regional musical heritage. The formal training he received - later consolidated with higher studies at Helwan University - never limited his creative freedom: on the contrary, it paved the way for a hybrid approach, where improvisation, live looping live looping and the exploration of new sound textures became central.

With performances in Egypt and across borders - including the United States, where she took part in the fourth season of the Center Stageprogramme, promoted by the US State Department - BalQeis has been making a name for herself in a variety of contexts, from collaborative experimentalism to the alternative circuit. Among her most notable appearances are the Ramajamproject during Ramadan 2018 and her collaboration with The Meteors Project as part of True Music, crossing future sounds with deep roots. Her work, deeply authorial, is based on an aesthetic that defies categories and boundaries. Live, she combines analogue instruments and real-time recordings, building layered compositions - a performance where tradition and technology intertwine, and where the electric oud emerges as the protagonist of a language in permanent reinvention, as you can clearly see listening to her latest work, ‘Planetary_4.2 (live)’.

A Garota Não

(PT)

Cátia Oliveira goes by the stage name A garota não, but her presence on the Portuguese music scene has been anything but absent. With the release of the acclaimed '2 de abril', she established herself as one of the most important voices in new Portuguese music - a singer who combines poetic sensitivity with the urgency of political and social discourse. Born in Setúbal, she brings with her the heritage of the protest song, but reinvents it with freshness and a language that dialogues with the present. Her songs are characterised by lucid, intimate and combative writing, which seeks, in her words, to ‘make the days clearer’ and restore some hope to those who feel disenchanted with the country's direction. ‘We're going through a period of deep discontent...’ she said recently in an interview. ‘We have a lame justice system, education and health in upheaval, a very violent housing crisis... and repeated episodes of political representatives involved in scams. Singing about what saddens us, about what makes us angry, might bring us closer together. Suddenly, at a concert, we realise that there are many of us who want a different country.’

After an intense year on the road with the songs from '2 de abril', the singer from Setubal returned to record releases in May 2025 with'Ferry Gold', a new album in which she once again uses song as a tool for intervention. Here, the focus is on the collective right to the coast, in opposition to the property speculation that is turning the Portuguese coast into an increasingly inaccessible asset. Once again, ‘A garota não’ protests the present in order to demand a fairer, more liveable future. With her, the song once again becomes a space for reflection, memory and resistance - without losing its delicacy or amazement.

Léonie Pernet

(FR)

Léonie Pernet is one of the most unique and restless artists on the contemporary French music scene. A classically trained pianist, self-taught percussionist, DJ, producer, vocalist and composer, Pernet moves freely between musical languages, breaking down the boundaries between classical music, experimental electronic music, alternative pop and Afro-Oriental sounds. Her work is a constant reinvention of identities – musical, cultural and personal – marked by an emotional and political intensity that defies superficial listening.

Her first album, Crave (2018), already revealed an artist in conflict and in pursuit. Between raw beats, whispered voices and moments of pure melancholy, the album seemed to ask itself (and us): how to live with what is missing? How to translate emptiness, anger, heritage and vulnerability into sound? With Le Cirque de Consolation (2021), Léonie Pernet responds, not with solutions, but with a new language: brighter, but no less intense. The album is a kind of healing ritual, a space where Maghreb percussion, children's songs, electronic harmonies, African choirs and whispered songs in French coexist.

Her music is both a mirror of her personal experience – queer, feminist, hybrid – and an aesthetic proposal for the future: a space where vulnerability is strength, where electronics are flesh, and where each sound carries a political gesture of listening, inclusion and reinvention.
In her live performances, Léonie transforms the stage into an emotional laboratory: between keyboards, drums, synthesizers and overlapping voices, she constructs almost shamanic experiences, challenging the passivity of the audience.

The body, presence and breathing are as fundamental as the arrangements.
Léonie Pernet is, above all, a composer of worlds. Not perfect or comforting worlds, but possible worlds – wounded, dancing, chaotic, and deeply human.

Fulu Miziki

(cd)

Fulu Miziki is an artistic statement in motion. Born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, this multidisciplinary collective has been conquering international stages with an unclassifiable sound and an aesthetic that combines Afrofuturism, ecological awareness and punkpunk rebellion. From Lingala, ‘fulu’ means rubbish - and it is precisely from what others discard that this group creates instruments, masks and performance costumes. Nothing is bought, everything is reused. From plastic tubes to pieces of metal or fabric, each element is given new life as part of a sound and visual orchestra that defies convention and transforms waste into pulsating art.

Fulu Miziki's approach is above all political. Each show is a ritualised performance performance that mixes electrified tribal beats, dance, urban intervention and social criticism. The message is clear: we need to rethink our relationship with the planet and with our own roots. Through a sound language that crosses genres and continents, the collective defends creative liberation and African dignity, while exposing the ecological and economic imbalances that affect both Congo and the globalised world. Afrofuturists by nature and ecologists by conviction, the members of Fulu Miziki project themselves as vanguards of an alternative future - a future in which art, made of waste and reinvention, serves as a means of resistance and regeneration. For them, it's not just about music: it's about imagining another possible world from the ruins of the current one. The result of this vision is vibrant, as ‘Mokano EP’, the original work from 2024, attests.

Justin Adams & Mauro Durante

(uk/it)

Justin Adams, known for his collaborations with Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Tinariwen, Rachid Taha and Souad Massi, has been an essential figure in contemporary global music. The son of diplomats and raised between the Middle East and the UK, the guitarist and producer fuses punk, o dub punk, dub and North African traditions with disarming fluidity. In recent years, he has also produced albums by Portuguese fado singer Lina, French-Algerian Souad Massi and collaborated with artists such as Sinead O'Connor and Juldeh Camara. Mauro Durante, on the other hand, is the heir and renovator of traditional Salento music. Leader of the historic Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino - founded by his family in 1975 - he is one of those responsible for the reinvention of pizzica and the international affirmation of Taranta as a living language. His career has crossed paths with names such as Ludovico Einaudi, Ibrahim Maalouf, Stewart Copeland, Piers Faccini and Jovanotti, always with one foot in tradition and the other in experimentation.

“Sweet Release”‘Sweet Release’, published by Ponderosa Music Records, is the second chapter in a musical dialogue that breaks down stylistic and cultural barriers. Recorded live in the studio, the album has the urgency and intimacy of a live performance, with room for improvisation and moments of pure harmony between the two artists. From rockabilly ao transe sufi, da Taranta rockabilly to Sufi trance, from the Taranta of the south of Italy to modern minimalism, the album covers a wide emotional and sonic geography, always with catharsis and healing as its central themes.

valter lobo

(pt)

With "Melancólico Dançante”, the fourth album in his discography, Valter Lobo consolidates his place as one of the most unique voices in new Portuguese music. The disc, released at the start of 2025, is based on the emotional matrix that has defined the singer's career - lyrical melancholy and vocal delivery - but now introduces a lighter rhythmic palette, inspired by the travels and tours that have taken him from the Portuguese coast to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Born out of an intimate and contemplative creative process,Melancólico Dançante” ‘Melancólico Dançante’ features nine original songs - among them ‘Cinema ou Real’, ‘Tão Perto’, ‘Moleque’ or ‘Ainda Ontem Tinha Céu’ - all written by Valter Lobo. ‘This album is the purest result of what I am, of how I see the world and reflect it in my songs,’ says the musician, who here seems to cross his introspective universe with a new desire for movement and communion.

Valter Lobo takes to the stage with his band - Jorge Moura, Pedro Santos and Pedro Oliveira - to present new compositions and revisit emblematic themes such as ‘Oeste’ or ‘Guarda-me Esta Noite’. Live, their songs become even more engaging: there's a tension between fragility and strength that translates into an emotionally charged experience. With albums such asInverno”, “Mediterrâneo” and “Primeira Parte de um Assalto”‘Primeira Parte de um Assalto’, Valter Lobo has built a coherent and increasingly relevant body of work within contemporary Portuguese music. folk, indie His blend of folk, indie and intimate poetry has resonated with an audience that values depth and authenticity. InMelancólico Dançante”‘Melancólico Dançante’, he proves that melancholy can also be danced to - slowly, with the heart.

Sofiane Saidi

(dz)

He's known as the ‘Prince of Raï 2.0’ and it's no coincidence. Sofiane Saidi, an Algerian singer born in Sidi Bel Abbès - the historical cradle of raï - has been one of the most innovative figures in contemporary Maghreb music, fusing tradition and modernity into a musical formula that pulses with soul and electricity. Based in Paris since the 1990s, Saidi has crossed stylistic boundaries with the naturalness of someone who grew up listening to the masters of Oran, but always with an ear towards the sounds of the future. After remarkable collaborations with names such as Acid Arab, Natacha Atlas, Smadj or the mythical Raina Rai, and a solo debut with the hypnotic'El Morjane' (2015), the singer returns to his roots to take raï to a new dimension.

In alliance with Mazalda, an experimental collective from Lyon, Saidi has created a vibrant hybrid where the spirit of classic 80s raï is reimagined with oriental saz , North African percussion, french horns and analogue synthesisers - all wrapped up in a warm, funky funky and intensely contemporary sound. It's his response to the raï of the third millennium: simultaneously homage and reinvention. The result is a dialogue between past and present, where Saidi's lyrical and engaging voice evokes the great Algerian crooners crooners while Mazalda's arrangements introduce sonic detours full of groovegroove, humour and irreverence. This partnership marks a turning point - or perhaps a logical continuation - in the career of an artist who has always known how to balance respect for traditions with an irresistible desire to experiment. With Sofiane Saidi, raï, which was born as fringe music and grew up on the cassette markets before conquering international radio in the 1990s, finds a new lease of life and a renewed urgency. More than nostalgia, this is music that is alive, open and reinvented with every beat, as is clear when you listen to a piece like ‘Mademoiselle’.

o gajo

(PT)

João Morais, known in the music scene as O GAJO, has been redefining the place of tradition in contemporary Portuguese music. Born in Lisbon and forged in the world of punk rockpunk rock, it was out of the need to reconnect with his roots that this unique project was born in 2016 — a sonic journey in which the ‘viola campaniça’, traditional from Alentejo, becomes the protagonist of an urban, restless and deeply identifiable musical discourse. The discovery of the ‘viola campaniça’ was more than an instrumental fascination: it was the turning point in Morais' career, who found in the chordophone from Alentejo a language of his own.

After hundreds of performances in and outside Portugal, he released his first album,'Longe do Chão', in 2017, followed by the ambitious cycle'As 4 Estações d’O GAJO'consisting of four EPs inspired by Lisbon train stations. In 2021,'Subterrâneos' brought new collaborations and complexity to the project, with musicians such as Carlos Barretto and José Salgueiro. In 2023,'Não Lugar' expanded the musician’s sound universe, exploring new geographies and instrumental fusions. Between stops at renowned festivals — from Eurosonic to Reeperbahn, from WOMEX to IMATERIAL — and tours across Europe, Brazil, Macau and Finland, O GAJO has established the ‘campaniça’ as a global instrument, without losing the accent of the Alentejo plains. Distinguished with the INATEL Award at the 2024 Iberian Festival Awards , O GAJO continues to forge his path with a free and combative spirit. In 2025,'Trovoada'arrives, a new album presented in band format, with accordions, percussion, bagpipes, cavaquinho and voice — a formation that promises to keep alive the creative storm of an artist who never stops surprising us.