The Vancouver Folk Music Festival will bring a world of sounds to ʔəy̓alməxʷ / Iy̓ál̓mexw Jericho Beach Park from July 18 to 20. Bel & Quinn’s sisters Bélinda and Christina Bélice, for example, sing in three languages—English, French, and Creole. These women front a Juno-nominated sextet that performs exuberant zouk from Martinique and vibrant kompa from Haiti. Meanwhile, the Langan Band and Shooglenifty, both from Scotland, and the Irish trio Ye Vagabonds will deliver healthy servings of Gaelic and Celtic culture. And the local party band, Locarno, can be counted on to deliver roaring set of Mexican-infused music.
Then there’s Rumbaristas, a European quartet that combines Balkan melodies with Catalan rumba in a new incarnation described as Balkanorumba. This year’s festival also features an impressive lineup of Indigenous performers. They range from Juno-winning Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie (whose music can be heard on the CBC hit comedy North by North) to Indigenous Australian artist, activist, and songwriter Emily Wurrama, who is based in Iutruwita (Tasmania). Fans of Arabic music can look forward to the Vancouver-based 10-piece Haram, which includes Juno-winning Vancouver oud virtuoso and guitarist Gordon Grdina.
But at this year’s festival, one of the best represented continents is Africa. Here is a list of five groups that celebrate its rich musical heritage, including three led by women.
African Chamber Music Ensemble (B.C.)
Newfoundland-born musician and ethnomusicologist Curtis Andrews has spent decades investigating the music, culture, and history of communities in Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and South India. After moving to Vancouver in 2009, he founded the Adanu Habobo ensemble with fellow scholar Kofi Gbolonyo to perform traditional music from West Africa. The African Chamber Music Ensemble is comprised of Andrews (percussion, voice), Kurai Mubaiwa (mbira, voice, percussion), Kwashie Kuwar (percussion, voice), Meridith Bates (viola), Peggy Lee (cello), Parmela Attariwala (viola), and Joshua Zubot (violin).
Andrews arranged the repertoire. According to the folk fest website, it “includes evocative mbira songs from Zimbabwe’s Shona people and the intricate vocal music of Ghana’s Ewe community”.
Bab L’Bluz (Moroccan-French)
After Yousra Mansouri’s father died, she felt that she and her four sisters were always being judged because there was no male authority in her Moroccan household. Yousra chose to channel her rebellion into music by cofounding the Gnawa Psyche band Bab L’Bluz in Marrakesh with her husband, French multi-instrumentalist Brice Bottin. The four-piece band’s name means “door of the blues”. Mansouri sings in Darija, a Moroccan Arabic dialect, and last year they released their second album, Swaken.
According to Mansouri, the band’s sound is influenced by Moroccan Gnawa musician Hamid El Kasri and the Moroccan soul band Nass El Ghiwane. Filmmaker Martin Scorcese once described Nass El Ghiwane as “The Rolling Stones of Africa”.
Bamba Wassoulou Groove (Mali)
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival has a history of bringing in outstanding musicians from Mali. For example, singer and multi-instrumentalist Ali Farka Touré was here in 1988; kora superstar Toumani Diabeté performed in 2007, and ngoni master Bassekou Kaouyate was at the festival in 2015.
This year, the Malian band Bamba Wassoulou Groove will perform their electrified Manding music, which includes Afro-Cuban influences. According to the folk festival website, singer Ousmane Diakité “sounds a bit like a Malian incarnation of Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett”.
The band includes bassist Aboubacar “Papis” Diombana and guitarist Mamadou “Bainy” Diabaté, the grandson of Toumani Diabeté. At the festival, they’ll be joined by Super Rail Group drummer Maguett Diop and guitarist Moussa Diabeté, who also hails from the famous Diabeté musical family.
Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin (Republic of Congo)
The Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, was previously a French colony, but historically, Bantu-speaking tribes have been predominant. Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin is a Congolese women’s collective led by Gladys Samba, a.k.a. Mama Glad, who performs with French producer and beatmaker Rrobin. Mama Glad sings in Lari, reflecting her connection to this ethnic subgroup from the southeastern part of the country.
“The big purpose of the project is not just making music, the main purpose is to save matriarchal heritage and culture in the Congo,” Mama Glad told Afropop Worldwide. “I realized all this culture, the songs, that the younger generation was about to lose it, because of modern culture. And mixing the ancestral tradition with electronic music allows the younger generation to re-appropriate it and this is having a big impact.”
The Republic of Congo is on the right bank of Africa’s second largest river, the Congo. The country’s much larger neighbour on the south bank, the Democratic Republic of Congo, was once a Belgian colony.
Watch the Zawoose Queens’ video (above) for “Maisha”.
The Zawoose Queens (Tanzania)
Pendo Zawoose and her niece, Leah Zawoose, perform with relatives who all incorporate traditional Wagogo style into their electric performances. Born and raised in the historic coastal town of Bagamoyo, Pendo is the daughter of famed Tanzanian musician Hukwe Zawoose, who died in 2003.
For many years, Pendo was forbidden from singing lead vocals because she was female. But now she’s fronting the band, setting an example for other women in East Africa. The band released its debut record, Maisha, in 2024.
In an album review last year, Guardian writer Neil Spencer noted that musical dynasties loom just as large in Tanzania as they do in Mali. “The sheer vocal power of the duo is arresting, a shifting polyphony primarily addressing family and domestic affairs; this is the first time women in Gogo music have been allowed to write their own stories,” Spencer declared.
Event details
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival runs from July 18 to 20 at ʔəy̓alməxʷ / Iy̓ál̓mexw Jericho Beach Park. Tickets are available via the website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social. Pancouver is also on Instagram @PancouverMedia. In addition, follow Charlie Smith on Bluesky @charliesmithvcr.bsky.social.
