Artists Livestream Traditional Moroccan Music in COVID-19 Lockdown

Rabat – “Layali Fes” (Nights of Fez), a Facebook page that specializes in sharing traditional Moroccan music and patrimonial events, has launched an initiative under the theme #TAFWIJA_M3A_FENNANE (cheering up with an artist) to help entertain Moroccans as the country’s coronavirus lockdown continues.

Launched by songwriter Hamza Ouezzani Chahdi, his brother and composer Tayeb Ouezzani Chahdi, and singer Adil Hajji, the project has managed to engage Moroccan artists with various musical styles and backgrounds to perform live shows from their homes.

Andaloussi music, Aissawa, Inchad (religious poetry), and Gnawa are a few of the initiative’s several featured musical styles.

“As soon as we launched the second live video on April 11 by the Moroccan artist Saad Senhaji, that counted 100,000 views, we realized how Moroccans have been yearning for their traditional music,” Ouezzani Chahdi told Morocco World News.

“We then decided to dedicate our efforts to cheer up people with the music they love amid this crisis, in which the coronavirus news fills up their screens,” Ouezzani added.

Layali Fes offers live shows with the #TAFWIJA_M3A_FENNANE hashtag every night at 10 p.m.

Tonight’s show will feature three Moroccan expatriates in Montreal, who will play Andaloussi Music.

“We had fears that we wouldn’t be able to reach enough artists to participate in our cultural mission, especially with our objective of streaming daily shows, but after a few live videos, we started receiving calls from Moroccan artists willing to participate and perform their talents before the Moroccan audience,” Ouezzani elaborated.

Those artists who arrange performances with project organizers are granted access to the Facebook page and are asked to perform for one hour and interact to some extent with the public, who can write comments during the live streams.

“Now we have a list full of artists who are willing to participate, long enough to stream daily till the end of the holy month of Ramadan,” Ouezzani added.

In addition to live streaming shows, the three Moroccan artists who oversee the effort released a song to raise awareness about COVID-19, with multiple hashtags supporting the cause.

Many patriotic songs by Italian and French musicians have gone viral on Facebook. Layali Fes joined in the patriotic trend, posting a music video that included 21 Moroccan artists playing Andaloussi music from their homes, including famous Moroccan singer Nabila Maan.

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Layali Fes’ music initiative falls within the framework of the greater Layali Fes cultural organization that facilitates patrimonial events.

Ouezzani’s passion extends beyond music. The 27-year-old artist also launched the humanitarian campaign #Aji_Nt3awnou (let’s help each other) in collaboration with the representative of the Private University of Fez (UPF), Yassine Lahlou. The initiative raised over MAD 75,000 ($7,500) in less than one week, which helped purchase staple foods for families in need.

Over 250 families in the city of Fez benefited from the food assistance, distributed in coordination with the spiritual capital city’s local authorities.