Festival au Désert Returns to Florence for 2025

 

The three-day contemporary music festival is back for 2025, taking place over three days in July (23 – 25). Having begun in 2010 as a collaboration between the Festival au Désert del Mali and Fabbrica Europa, the festival is part of ‘Estate Fiorentina,’ (Florence Summer Festival) which runs events throughout the season. From the start of June to the end of September, the city will see more than 1000 performances, exhibitions, festivals, and more on offer.

The ‘Festival au Désert Firenze’ will be held in the Cascine Park, and this location, which overlooks the Arno River, contributes to the culturally enriching experience that the event promises. Musical traditions from across the world will become entwined with one another through powerful performances, placing particular emphasis on minorities and nomadic cultures.

Many musicians and artists are taking part in the three-day event, including Zawose Queens (Friday),Kefaya with Elaha Soroor (Friday), Kalifa Kone (Thursday), and Riccardo Onori (Thursday), all of whom strive to express their individual cultural identities through music in different ways.

The Zawose Queens are a particular highlight in the festival’s line-up, starting 9 pm on Friday, with aunt-niece duo Pendo and Leah Zawose being descendants of a distinguished musical dynasty in Tanzania. The band released their debut album, ‘Maisha,’ last year, and are firmly on the rise, building momentum as successful artists, and so their performance this month is not one to miss.

Another highlight of the festival is the orchestra composed of Mediterranean and Arab women, ALMAR’À, who are set to lead an open workshop on Wednesday which invites new musicians to try out instruments and take part in their creative processes. This informal event is representative of the festival’s wider aim to encourage cultural expression through music, as well as creating an appreciation for different styles of music from around the world. (Scarlet Claydon-Jones)