North America’s premier African music festival, Nuits D’Afrique in Montreal, just wrapped up its 39th edition. Afropop Worldwide was there, and we caught 22 bands, many of them Canadian-based, and all quite excellent. And that was just for the last five days of the 12-day extravaganza, the free outdoor portion that takes place in open air in downtown Montreal. Over the coming weeks, we will be presenting interviews, images and videos from our dense experience, so consider this post an opening gambit!
As we’ve noted before, Afropop and Nuits D’Afrique share a lot in common. The festival is one year older than us. (Try as we might, we can’t seem to catch up!) More importantly, we share the same territory: Africa and the diaspora, a vast remit, but still well short of the vast-to-the-point-of-absurdity territory of “world music.” In our realm, there is connective tissue, shared narratives, historical ties, bold-face and hidden connections; all elements of one unifying story, the global dissemination of African culture. At Nuits D’Afrique those connections are palpable, from the deep roots of West African griot tradition to the most inventive forms of Afro-Colombian and Afro-Haitian music, and so much more. There were also DJ sets before the final mainstage acts, including a memorable one by Congolese Montrealer and banedleader Kizaba.
The quality of the locally based acts is a testament to the tireless work of the Nuits D’Afrique staff in mentoring and supporting artists as they have grown from enthusiastic amateurs to seasoned professionals. A key aspect of that has been the Syli D’Or battle of the bands at Club Ballatou. The club was started long ago by festival founder Lamine Touré of Guinea, a constant presence at festival events and now a legend of Montreal culture. The contest takes place in the dark of winter, with three bands playing each night. The audience picks winners who advance to the next round. When it comes down to nine acts, Afropop Worldwide weighs in, awarding one of them the Afropop Prize. This year it went to an outstanding salsa-dura band called Marzos, fronted by Colombian guitarist and vocalist Mateo. Marzos and Mateo will be featured in a future post. Their performance on the main stage, the Radio Canada stage, on July 17 was sensational, an absolute confirmation of our choice.
There were some well-known heavy-hitters on the stages, including Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Meiway el le Zo Gang, Afirka (past winner of the Afropop prize), Les Mamans du Congo X Rrobin, Djely Tapa (daughter of Malian griot extraordinaire Kandia Kouyate and now a growing international star), Dicko Fils of Burkina Faso (now resident in Montreal), Wesli and Baz Konpa (both Haitian acts now based in Quebec) and Manamba Kante (daughter of Mory Kante, and an artist well known to the West African crowd turned out for her early evening show). We’ll have interviews with Femi, Meiway, Wesli, Baz Konpa and others in future posts.
For this post, I’ll focus on a few of the discoveries, acts we did not know but were thrilled to meet, all of them now based in Canada.
Tyrane Mondeny of Cote D’Ivoire was a revelation. A self-described “Lion on the stage,” she delivered a riveting set merging Mande tradition with gut-bucket blues and R&B. Her band includes possibly the most forceful bass player in the whole festival! Tyrane is finishing up her debut album, definitely one to watch!
Myster Jay, a Congolese artist based in Montreal, played a powerful set of classic soukous and Ndombolo, and a take on mutuashi, a definite crowd-pleaser.
Orchestre Chaâbi de Montreal revisit the glorious sound of Algerian chaâbi music, with rich, orchestral textures, soulful vocals and three banjos in the lineup! Leader Ali Syroco was the leader of another past Afopop Prize winner, the band Sirocco. The orchestra opened with a rousing crowd-pleaser, “Ya Rayah,” as heard in this video:
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Raíz Viva gave us a beautiful set of Afro-Colombian music and dance. Another Canadian ensemble, Raiz Viva are part of the global cumbia diaspora. It’s music impossible not to love, and this ensemble delivers it with verve and panache.
Melodji hails from Chad, but also now makes her home in Montreal. Her deep, robust voice has made her a hit in Chad for over 20 years. Montreal is lucky to have her, and we look forward to knowing her better in the future.
Kozé specialize in the folkloric rhythms and melodies of their home in Isle de la Reunion: maloya, rouler, kayamb, piker… Also Montreal-based, they too were runners-up for honors in this year’s Syli D’Or.
Idriss Leviking Noir of Cote D’Ivoire fronted an excellent West African ensemble merging Mande traditions, reggae and more, and exhibiting a commanding stage presence throughout a powerhouse set with a fantastic dancer on hand. Le viking noir indeed!
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Algerian-born Labess is a long-time Montrealer who left to spend a few years in Morocco and then returned. With a nylon-string guitar and just two accompanists, he closed the show on July 16, rousing the crowd with songs form the gypsy- chaabi repertoire, including some well-known sing-alongs.
Team Salsa Sextet, another excellent Afro-Latin orchestra resident in the city, gave an exhillerating set featuring salsa legend “Waltinho” (Walter Andrade), who proved an unstoppable force on stage.
Tamboréal Samba Bloco is a full-on Afro-Brazilian orchestra. They were runners-up in this year’s Syli D’Or contest for the Afropop prize. On stage, they were a dynamo, with non-stop dancing, groove and the unique power of samba percussion.
Finally a few images of past favorites who gave memorable performances this year, Dicko Fils of Burkina Faso and Afro-futuristic griotte Djely Tapa. Next year is Nuits D’Afriques’ 40th anniversary, and discussions are underway for an increased Afropop Worldwide presence. Mark your calenders for mid-July, 2026, now!!