Sufi trance group the Master Musicians Of Joujouka are once again welcoming visitors to their village in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco this summer for their annual festival. The event, limited to 50 spaces, offers guests an opportunity to see the "4,000-year-old roll & roll group" play live over three days and nights in an intimate setting. This year the dates are set for June 20-22 and the ticket price includes accommodation in the Masters’ homes with their families and all freshly home-cooked Moroccan meals and refreshments during your stay. Transport is also laid on to and from the village from the nearest train station at Ksar El Kebir, accessible from all major cities. The festival offers not only a rare chance to see the group perform, but also experience life in the village and visit the cave of Magara, where in village folklore a shepherd was introduced to the music by a half-man half-goat figure named Boujeloud.
This year will be the seventh edition of the festival, that began in 2008 to mark the 40th anniversary of Rolling Stone Brian Jones’ visit to the village, when he recorded the landmark album Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan. Brion Gysin, William S Burroughs and Ornette Coleman rank among other notable visitors to the village over the years. For more information and booking details head here, read the Quietus’ report from the 2010 festival visit here and watch a clip of the Master Musicians of Joujouka performing in the village below:
