MOROCCO 2025
It’s a month now since we’re back from the inaugural MUSICAL ADVENTURES IN MOROCCO tour, where 20 intrepid souls joined us to sing, eat, listen, party and ride the odd camel in this beautiful country. In three weeks we visited Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Fes, the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara desert, Marrakech, Essaouira and Oualidia. Some of us were lucky enough to get to the Sacred Music Festival – Sufi vocal ensembles from Oman and the Comoros Islands, a Corsican singer of Renaissance music, the Drums of Burundi, Monteverdi etc. – but elsewhere we heard Gnaoua ensembles playing gimbri (3-string bass) and krakeb (large iron castanets), with incredible energy and volume (see pic of the Sand Pigeons, above); Andalusian oud and guitar (in Rick’s Cafe), cello and oud (hotel in Casablanca)and were serenaded by an Amazigh band (think Tinariwen) in our desert camp (think glamping).
The Moroccan people are easy-going, generous, respectful, the food was great, the countryside ever-changing: desert to lush farmland, austere yet convoluted mountains, then the golden beaches – and the whole experience beautifully organised, expertly guided and inspiring.
For example: I had my birthday on day 12. Nothing special planned for the day – I was happy for it to be that way -we were in a village called Tamedakt, seeing how rural Moroccans live. As we all ate dinner at our hotel that night, a Gnaoua band turned up, comprising men from the village and hotel staff. They had not been asked, but had sniffed out a birthday and decided to help us celebrate – as our tour host Colleen said ‘Moroccans never miss an opportunity for joy’. The band played krakeb, djembe, frame drum, darabuka and banjo – even the banjo was funky – and were, like almost all the music we heard, loud. The hotel staff member, Majid, who had been fixing the electricity in my room and waiting on us at breakfast, suddenly turned into a demon on the darabuka. Everyone danced.
So… a big thank you to our tour hosts Colleen and Simo from Roam Like Queens, to Jann for logistics, our drivers Aziz and Murad, and to our singers for making this trip so memorable. We are planning another trip in Sept 2026 for another 20 singers. If you are interested, send your expression of interest to jann@sortedbyjann.com
Please include your name, address, singing experience and why you want to join us in Morocco 2026. We look forward to hearing from you.
Morocco
