EVENT SERIES | Somalia: Mogadishu Music Festival (aka Somali Reconciliation Festival)
April 2013 | Humanitarian Bazaar ft. Waayaha Cusub, Kombo Chokwe & Afro simba, Alsarah, Ariana Delawari Band, Jahm Eye, Bill Brookman, and more
Humanitarian Bazaar
On April 27th, 2013, Somali hiphop group Waayaha Cusub and Humanitarian Bazaar launched the historic Mogadishu Music Festival in Mogadishu, Somalia. The festival, also known as the Somali Sunrise Festival and Somali Reconciliation Festival and Reconciliation Music Festival due to translation, ran for a week with the first international and public live concerts in Mogadishu since before the war. The festival’s six concerts featured live performances from Waayaha Cusub (Somalia), Kombo Chokwe & Afro Simba (Kenya), and other artists aimed at persuading youth to turn away from extremism and help end the war.
LIVE INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES IN MOGADISHU
MARCH 27-APRIL 4, 2013 | MOGADISHU MUSIC FESTIVAL, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA. Featuring Waayaha Cusub, Afro Simba Band, and international guests, Mogadishu, Somalia, March-April 2013. We produced the most ambitious music festival in recent history, bringing Somali and international performers to war torn Mogadishu to persuade youth to turn away from extremism and violence. The six concerts brought in 2,000 audience during high security conditions.
The shows starred Waayaha Cusub (Somali hiphop featuring Falis Abdi, Digriyow Abdi, Lihle Muhdin, Burhan Ahmed Yare, and Shiine Akhyaar), Kombo Chokwe & Afro Simba Band (Kenya), Alsarah (Sudan/USA), Ariana Delawari & Band (USA/Afghanistan), DZA the Dissenter (Sudan), Jahm-Eye (Philippines Mindanao), and more. The festival, the world’s second “stealth” music festival after Sound Central (below), is depicted in our coming feature-length documentary film, Live from Mogadishu. Find out more at Somalisunrise.org. We are rebuilding this website and will include more detail about the artists and events here soon.