National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

The annual Spirit of Fes tour, now in its third year, will be returning to U.S. stages this fall, bringing a taste of Morocco's acclaimed Fes Festival of Sacred Music to North American audiences. The fifteen-city tour will kick off at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. on October 7th, and cross the country to wind up in San Fransisco on October 29th (see dates below), with stops at New York's Carnegie Hall and UCLA's Royce Hall.

This year's touring lineup will include American vocalist Susan Hellauer—founding member of early music ensemble Anonymous 4—South Indian classical singer Aruna Sairam, Moroccan sufi devotional esemble The Daqqa Roudania of Taroudant (pictured), Moroccan-American Sephardic vocalist Gerard Edery and his group the Sons of Sepharad, Lebanese-American percussionist Jamey Haddad, and Palestinian-American multi-instrumentalist Zafer Tawil.

The mission of the Spirit of Fes our is, according to a festival press release, "to bring the Fes Festival's character and ethos to new audiences across the US." The Tour is held in conjunction with Morocco's annual Fes Festival of World Sacred Music and its companion event, the Fes Forum. Founded in 1994 by King Mohammed IV of Morocco in response to the first Gulf War, the festival's mission is to "create a venue for dynamic and respectful intercultural and inter-religious dialogue between the world's diverse cultures."

In its twelve years, the festival has become a world music destination, attracting some of the world's most celebrated performers, including Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar, Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'Dour, Brazilian singer, and current Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, and South African vocalist Miriam Makeba, as well as a host of musicians from around Morocco.

For more information on tickets and showtimes, consult the Spirit of Fes tour website.

Spirit of Fes Tour Dates:

October 7th: Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Washington, D.C.

October 10th: Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Perelman Theater
Philadelphia, PA

October 11th: University of Connecticut, Jorgensen Auditorium
Storrs, CT

October 12th: Art Center and Theater of Schenectady, Proctors Theatre
Schenectady, NY

October 13th: Concert Hall, Purchase College, SUNY
Purchase, NY

October 14: Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall
New York, NY

October 17th: Suny College At Buffalo, Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall
Buffalo, NY

October 19th: Purdue University, Loeb Playhouse
West Lafayette, IN

October 20 & 21:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
Urbana, IL

October 24th: Irvine Barclay Theatre
Irvine, CA

October 25th: UC Riverside, University Theater
Riverside, CA

October 26th: UCLA Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

October 27th: UC Santa Cruz, Music Center Recital Hall
Santa Cruz, CA

October 28th: California State University, Chico, Laxson Auditorium
Chico, CA

October 29th: Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Kanbar Hall
San Francisco, CA