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Join on Telegram In the heart of Essaouira, under a pink and orange sunset sky, DJs rang in the first night of the Solal Experience — a new festival aiming to bring together musical, visual, and culinary arts.
Friday was the first night of the three-day festival running from April 28-30. Guests arrived at Mama Lova hotel for the opening event where they were serenaded with DJs and served fancy cocktails.
Given his Moroccan-Jewish origins, Swan Toledano founded the festival in part to bring Israeli DJs to Morocco, among other international artists, he said. The 33-year-old artist was born in Toulouse, moved to the Caribbean, and has lived in many places. He opened Mama Lova in October 2022.
“It was meant to be to start the event here,” he told MWN.
“I’m an artist,” Toledano said. “[Solal Experience] is the mix of all the different art I’ve done in my life.”
He named the festival after his son who is 2.5 years old. “Solal” is a Hebrew word that means pathfinder, or “the one who shows you the way.”
The festival is aimed at youth, travelers, and artists between 25-35 years old. Toledano decided to keep the inaugural event small, with only about 150 tickets sold for its first edition. He said a lot went into the preparation for the festival.
“It was so crazy,” he said. “So much emotion, all the people following us. I’m so grateful for all these people that believe in the Solal Experience and believe in me.”
Saturday is the main day of the festival, set to be complete with lunch in Essaouira’s medina, a 60-camel caravan, and music until 5 a.m.
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Festival attendee Kamelia Basri said that she is most excited for the caravan trip. This is her first time attending a music festival, and she said she has no regrets.
“I don’t know what’s coming next, and I’m excited for it,” Basri said Friday night.
In addition to music, the festival features visual and culinary arts. Hind Chani, fashion designer and founder of the clothing brand Zaian, had her clothes on display on the first night. She said her goal for this weekend is to meet a lot of people and sell her creations.
One of the founders of the 5-month-old business Fish Burger, Abdelfettah El Moussaoui, is also a partner of the festival. Fish Burger will be one of the caterers for Saturday’s main events.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the people’s reactions about our food,” he told MWN.
Though the festival is advertised as a new electronic music experience, it opened with a performance of traditional Gnaoua music by master Abdelmalek Kadiri.
“The base of Solal is DJs, but it’s good that they’re doing some Gnaoua music too because Essaouira is well known for Gnaoua music,” Kadiri said.
Essaouira’s best-known festival is the Gnaoua music festival, which will be taking place in late June this year, its first normal year after the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded in 1998, the Gnaoua festival attracts about 500,000 participants.
Essaouira is a cultural hotspot that attracts many visitors with its beautiful coasts and rich history. The majority of the artists Toledano chose to feature for his festival are locals.
“It’s really important for me to bring the Essaouira community to this stage,” he said.
