Festivals

Four festivals, four crowds. We take the Gnaoua and World Music Festival, in late June, to be the only one that fills the town. It brought 460 artists over three days in 2026 (the festival’s closing press release). The Printemps Musical des Alizés, in late April, is a classical music festival where every concert is free. MOGA, in early October, is an electronic music festival: two free days in town, then three ticketed days outside the walls. The Andalousies Atlantiques, in autumn, is an indoor festival built on the town’s Jewish-Moroccan memory. This page says which one is yours and what its week does to the town. The calendar of the next three months is in the events calendar.

Gnaoua: three days that fill the town

The festival was born in June 1998, and Gnaoua culture has been on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list since 2019 (2024 press kit, read on 25 September 2026). The 27th edition ran from 25 to 27 June 2026. The 28th is announced for 24 to 26 June 2027, Thursday to Saturday (official site, read on 16 October 2026).

The point to know: the official ticket office already announces 2027 but still shows the 2026 price grid, with a price for every stage. An evening there cost 250 to 600 MAD depending on the stage, and the three-day pass 1,200 MAD (read on 16 October 2026). No 2027 prices are published. On free access, the festival’s own documents disagree. The 2024 press kit calls it “popular and free”. The 2026 programme specifies ticketed access only for Borj Bab Marrakech and the traditional concerts, yet the ticket office mentions no free entry.

The main evenings are held on Place Moulay Hassan, on the beach and at the Borj Bab Marrakech. The intimate concerts are held at the zaouias, Bayt Dakira, Dar Souiri and the former Danish consulate, and are sold only at the festival shop. Our advice: read the programme before you book the room.

Alizés and Andalousies: the two indoor festivals

The Printemps Musical des Alizés is the Gnaoua’s opposite: classical music with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Maroc, and every concert free (OPM, read on 16 October 2026). The 22nd edition ran from 30 April to 3 May 2026. Its official programme listed twelve events: a musical walk through the medina, the rest at Dar Souiri, Bayt Dakira and the Salle La Marche Verte. Neither the programme nor the orchestra mentions booking. The rooms at Dar Souiri and Bayt Dakira are small: arrive half an hour early.

The Andalousies Atlantiques mixes Andalusian music, matrouz, chaabi and flamenco. Its 20th edition was held in autumn 2025, according to the Fundación Tres Culturas, the festival’s Andalusian partner. As of 16 October 2026 no date has been published for 2026, and the organising association’s website still shows test content. When a date lands, it appears in our news section.

MOGA: two days in town, three nights outside the walls

MOGA is an electronic music festival created in Essaouira a decade ago, according to its own site. The 2027 edition is announced for 6 to 10 October. MOGA OFF takes the first two days, with free events at several venues in town. MOGA IN follows from Friday 8 to Sunday 10, ticketed, from 16:00 to 04:00, at the Hôtel Le Golf d’Essaouira & Spa (official ticket office, read on 16 October 2026). The first three-day pass, on sale before the line-up is announced, costs 1,500 MAD plus fees.

What each week does to the town

We take Gnaoua to be the one week when Essaouira is full: the festival reports more than 300,000 festival-goers in 2026. Rooms go months ahead and so do tables: the premium is priced in our Budget pages, the way to sleep through it is in Riads. In 2026 the last concert on Place Moulay Hassan started between 00:15 and 00:45 depending on the night (official programme). Near the square, the music therefore carries into the courtyards past midnight. If you have come to sleep, pick an address towards Bab Doukkala or the kasbah.

MOGA does the reverse. The town keeps only the two free OFF days, and the hotels of the bay and Diabat fill up. We advise agreeing the taxi fare to the site before you get in. As far as we know, the Alizés and the Andalousies change neither prices nor noise. You could miss them without noticing, and that is their quality. Between festivals, the concerts are in Concerts & nights.