Beat Hotel Marrakech promises a weekend full of ideas, music, food and culture

Set in a 27-acre boutique resort on the outskirts of Marrakech and built around a series of swimming pools, palm trees and cacti, the Beat Hotel festival sounds like a wondrous mirage dreamt up by our weary February souls, still struggling through winter, devoid of sunlight and joy. Yet, luckily for us, this four-day festival, taking place between 19 and 22 March, is no figment of the imagination.

And it’s not just the location that sounds like a much-needed tonic during the winter months. The line-up and programme for the festival have just been announced and it's mouth-watering, combining sets by some of our favourite artists and DJs, a series of talks and workshops by some of world’s best-loved creatives, one-off culinary collaborations, and film screenings to boot.

Turner Prize-winner Jeremy Deller, whose work has always contained an element of social and political commentary, will be giving a talk focused on the role of art in society and will explore how the artist can become an agent of change. Meanwhile, the Moroccan-born photographer, artist and designer Hassan Hajjaj will join London-based artist Camille Walala onstage for a discussion entitled Art Goes Pop! The conversation, which will be hosted by It’s Nice That’s editor Matt Alagiah (as part of a media partnership with Beat Hotel Marrakech), will focus on the two artists’ shared love of bright colours and the power of art to transmit positivity.

Meanwhile, the music line-up features local and international artists alongside one another. Gilles Peterson, founder of Worldwide FM and Brownswood, and electronic artist Young Marco will both play sets. Floating Points will perform his acclaimed new album Crush, just released on Ninja Tune, and will be joined by a newly produced A/V show in partnership with long-time collaborators Hamill Industries.

Elsewhere on the billing, you’ll find the Belgian-Caribbean artist Charlotte Adigéry, the Casablanca-based producer and DJ Yasmean (who also played the inaugural 2019 edition of Beat Hotel Marrakech), the Moroccan folk musician Moulay Ahmed El Hassani, and Jannis Sturtz, the founder of German record lablel Habibi Funk.

The organisers of Beat Hotel Marrakech have also programmed a series of film screenings for this year. In March, Hassan Hajjaj will introduce and discuss his documentary Karima – A Day in the Life of a Henna Girl, which follows the adventures of a woman creating henna tattoos for tourists in Marrakech’s bustling Medina. There will also be three films produced by Luaka Bop, the record label founded by David Byrne: Fantastic Man, which documents the mystery and myth shrouding Nigerian musician William Onyeabor; Hream, which profiles lo-fi soul artist Doug Hream Blunt’s life; and Ashram, directed by Vincent Moon and Priscilla Telmon, which depicts a beautiful portrait of the California-based spiritual community The Sai Anantam Ashram.

With the festival running from midday until 4 AM across its four days, with a special opening concert on Thursday evening, there’s genuinely something for every creative mind and music fan. Click here to find out more about the line-up or book your tickets. We’ll look forward to seeing you there!