Stereo Africa: Africa Resonates Its Music
The 4th edition of the "Stereo Africa" festival opens this Wednesday, May 7, and will continue until May 11 in Dakar.
This festival serves as a platform to showcase alternative music genres such as salsa, slow music, folk, and acoustic music, which are often unknown to the Senegalese public.
"It's a festival that offers all types of world music. We noticed that in Senegal, there wasn't a platform for alternative music like folk, acoustic, world, and fusion. There was only one for other types of music like Hip-hop, Mbalax, etc. That is what prompted us to take this initiative," said the promoter, musician Sahad Sarr, according to the Senegalese news agency.
This five-day festival, which aims to promote, represent, and broadcast the music of the continent and support emerging artists, will feature about 25 musicians from several countries around the world, including Colombia, Argentina, Equatorial Guinea, and Senegal.
Held at several venues, this event, which expects over 3,000 national and international festival-goers, focuses on "artistic and visual design" to mark its "identity."
The festival also emphasizes several points, including "Unplugged sessions," "Showcases," a mentoring program for women with music projects called "Women Art Academy," and a "Masterclass" aimed at strengthening the capacities of young people in various cultural and creative industry careers.
These sessions help support the projects of three emerging artists, generally from the outskirts of Dakar, over the course of a year.
