World rhythms at Nuits d’Afrique

Montréal World Music Explosion

FINA was founded by legendary Montréal promoter Lamine Touré who opened the city’s iconic Club Balattou in 1985. Congolese entertainer Dally Kimoko’s hit song Balattou à Montréal (which you can listen to on Spotify) spread the legend of Club Balattou where world-music superstars Papa Wemba, Baaba Maal, Salif Keita, Youssou N’Dour and Angélique Kidjo all made their North American débuts or early career-defining appearances.

True to its mission, this year’s festival will showcase the best of African, Caribbean and Latin American music. Over the course of 13 days, some 120 concerts and activities featuring more than 700 artists from 30 countries will liven up six indoor concert venues, plus two free outdoor stages in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles.

Here are the festival's eight indoor concert series:

1.  Les Grands Événements Series

   Flavia Coelho combines the musical genres from Brazil’s Nordeste like samba and forró with bossa nova and pagode along with reggae, amapiano, G-funk and house (July 9 at the Olympia Theatre); and from Guinea, Soul Bang’s delivers soulful Afropop (July 19 at Club Balattou).

2.  Prestige Series

   Seasoned percussionist, kora player and griot Noumoucounda Cissoko of Senegal headlines Club Balattou (July 10); and La Nuit de la Kora with Toumany Kouyaté et Zal Sissokho from Senegal headline Le Gesù (July 13).

3.  The Voix du Monde series

   The voodoo rhythms, catchy RnB, reggae and Afrobeat-flavoured melodies of Haiti’s Jean Jean Roosevelt (July 10 at Théâtre Fairmount); Mauritania’s Daby Touré casts his gaze on West African musical traditions, infusing them with blues, jazz, pop, reggae, funk and soul (July 11 at Théâtre Fairmount); proud son of Togo’s Ewe people, Yawo explores the boundaries of ancestral rhythms with a jazzy edge, incorporating afro-beat, Afrofunk, Afropop and reggae grooves (July 13 at Club Balattou); Fabrice Koffy (Ivory Coast - QC) manipulates, assembles and chants words to different beats (July 14 at Club Balattou); and kora and guitar strings are at the heart of the music of Sousou & Maher Cissoko of Senegal-Sweden (July 17 at Club Balattou).

4.  Les Incontournables series

   La Chiva Gantiva (Colombia - Belgium) blends cumbia, champeta, chirimia and mapalé at Club Balattou (July 8);  Rendez-vous mandingue with Benkadi of Guinea is an evening devoted to West African cultures (July 12 at Club Balattou); La Tribu Salsa Band features a lively brass section, flamboyant piano playing, tight bass, punch percussions and four singers (July 16 at Club Balattou); and Saïd Mesnaoui & Transe Gnawa Fusion (Morocco) were among the first musicians to introduce North African music to Montréal (July 18 at Théâtre Fairmount).

5.  Les Étoiles Nuits d’Afrique series

   Nine evening concerts featuring Samba Canjerê from Brazil (July 8-9-10 at Club Balattou); Less Toches brings its Montréalaise Cumbia to the dancefloor (July 13-14-15 at Club Balattou); and Boulila of Morocco combines guitar, saxophone, bass, piano and drums, exposing the African roots of popular Western music (July 16-17-20 at Club Balattou).

6.  Nuits d’Afrique Sound System Series

   The Sauce Piquante Sound System blends ska, rumba, calypso, funk and punk (July 12 at Le Ministère); the Dômesicle x Nuits d’Afrique Sound System shifts between electro-hardcore, Afro house and Afrobeat (July 18 at the SAT); and Cosmovision invite El Gato Negro incorporates downtempo and folktronica (July 19 at Le Ministère).

7.  Les Révélations Series

   This series presents the new faces of world music: Fulu Miziki Kolektiv (DR Congo) transpose the noise of Kinshasa’s streets into an Afro-futuristic techno-punk stamped with Congolese rumba (July 9 at Club Balattou); Senegal’s Sahad blends funk, soul, jazz and rock with mbalax and sabar overtones (July 15 at Club Balattou); griot Kabey Konaté punctuates his reggae with Mandinka rhythms (July 18 at Club Balattou); and the Desert blues of Boubé from Niger (July 20 at Club Balattou).

8.  Global Beat Series

   This series focuses on traditional rhythms revisited by the latest trends: the musical universe of Sarāb extends from trap to dub, metal and rock, but is rooted in the poetry of classical Arab maqâmât (July 8 at Le Ministère); talented Colombian vocalist and beatboxer KillaBeatMaker brings Andean and Afro-Colombian traditions to life (July 9 at Le Ministère); and South African hip hop legend Stogie T headlines Club Balattou (July 11).

The Village des Nuits d’Afrique

Beneath the sun and stars, Nuits d’Afrique presents six days of free outdoor activities and concerts from July 15 to 20 on the Parterre du Quartier des spectacles and the Esplanade Tranquille.

The open-air dance workshops, the children’s village, Cabaret Nuits d’Afrique, the Timbuktu Market and the Promenade des Saveurs food court are all back this year.

Free outdoor concerts

These exciting, memorable and entirely free concerts from July 15 to 20 draw huge crowds. 

The outdoor Les Grands Événements TD Series on the TD stage on the Parterre du Quartier des spectacle has booked international star headliners:

Blaiz Fayah adds zouk and kompa accents to shatta, a completely Martinican subgenre of Jamaican dancehall (July 15);  Algeria’s Labess delivers a gypsy-chaabi that emphasizes the shared traits of popular Maghrebi and Eastern European rhythms (July 16); salsa with Marzos & Mateo (July 17); Nigerian superstars Femi Kuti & The Positive Force return to Montreal with their message of peace, resistance and unity (July 18); Baz Konpa will perform Haitian dance rhythms (July 19); and legendary Meiway et le Zo Gang of Ivory Coast close the festival with their timeless “Zoblazo” (July 20).

The outdoor Femmes du Monde Series on the Loto-Québec stage on the Esplanade Tranquille highlights the powerful presence of women in world music with headliners Mo’Kalamity (Cape Verde) on July 15; Les Mamans du Congo X Rrobin (DR Congo) on July 16; powerful diva Melodji (Chad - QC) on July 17; slam artist Lydol (Cameroon) on July 18; Mandinka soul queen Tyrane Mondeny (Ivory Coast) on July 19; and the daughter of the legendary Mory Kanté, rising star Manamba Kanté (Guinea) on July 20).

The 39th edition of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique runs from July 8 to 20, 2025. Click here for dates and times of all shows.