More about the Festival
Since 2008, the annual festival at Joujouka has taken place in June every summer and offers a unique opportunity to spend three days with the Master Musicians. Unlike any other, ours is a true micro-festival which has received rave coverage from Mojo, The Guardian, Liberation, the BBC, Al Jazeera and The Irish Times.
Our concept
The Festival is all about offering a very small group of people the opportunity to live in Joujouka with the Masters as your hosts and experience the music in the village and spectacular landscape in which it belongs. People who speak French, Arabic and English and who have long, strong connections with the village are on hand to answer questions and make you feel as at home as possible. Because of the nature of the Festival, numbers have to be strictly limited to 50 people and this means it’s essential to book early if you want to have this incredible experience.
Flying to Morocco
If you’re only coming to Morocco for the Festival, the easiest thing to do is to fly to Tanger and take the train from Tanger Ville, a short taxi ride from the centre of Tanger. A taxi from Tanger to Joujouka costs 100 MAD. Should you be travelling in Morocco, Fez and Casablanca are four hours from El Ksar El Kebir, the nearest town to Joujouka, by train. Marrakesh is eight hours. Don’t fly to Agadir – there are no direct train connections.
Getting to Joujouka
We collect you at El Ksar El Kebir train station and return you when the festival is over. The station is around an hour from Joujouka. The Moroccan train service is actually pretty good and very cheap. You can find train times at www.oncf.ma, the website of the national rail network.
How long is the festival?
Due to high demand, we only offer three-day tickets for the full festival but if you really want to experience Joujouka and can only come for a shorter period of time, contact us and we’ll see what we can do.
What the ticket price includes
The Masters play for you and the village every night of the Festival on the stage which was purpose built for them and they spend most of the days playing. Music is part of the fabric of Joujouka and the essence of your experience. Your ticket includes transport from the railway station, three nights’ accommodation in the Masters’ homes, all your meals and drinks for the three days of the festival and breakfast on the day you leave. Alcohol is strictly prohibited. All accommodation arrangements will be made for you well before you arrive in Joujouka and, don’t worry, you won’t be sharing a room with strangers. One of the great treats of the Festival is the opportunity to enjoy home cooked Moroccan food, which is delicious. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, no problem. Your hosts will often prepare snacks, which are meals in themselves.
Reserve your place for 2018
The full cost for the Festival is €385. You pay a non-refundable €85 deposit with the balance payable before the Festival. Dates for 2016 22-4 June with drop off on Monday 25 July.
Info email joujouka@gmail.com
Note that ticket purchase does not grant any image or sound rights of the Master Musicians of Joujouka or the villagers, guests or the village. The Master Musicians of Joujouka retain all rights in their patrimony, image, music and culture.
