Mali, East Africa

Festival in the Desert is a world-renowned, three-day music festival held in the desert village of Essakane, about 45 miles northeast of the legendary city of Timbuktu in Mali. Music lovers travel from all over the world to experience this exotic, one-of-a kind event in the Sahara Desert.

Many Tuareg tribespeople attend Festival in the Desert, some traveling for weeks by camel for the privilege of taking part in this annual event. Surrounded by men donning colorful head-wear, women draped in flowing fabrics and gold, too many camels to count, and sand as far as the eye can see, this is truly a look into the "real Mali" for foreign travelers.

During the three days of the festival, camel rides and races, traditional singing and games, expos and conferences take place during the day. In the evenings, over 40 groups will perform an extraordinary mix of traditional, modern, and Western music.

Festival in the Desert is so compelling that it has attracted artists as diverse as Mali’s most popular female singer Oumou Sangare, desert blues performer Ali Farka Toure, one of the world’s top kora players Toumani Diabate, Native American rock group Blackfire, French rap group Kwal, English rocker Robert Plant formerly of Led Zeppelin, and Malian political rock band Tinariwen.

The eighth edition of Festival in the Desert is slated for January 10-12, 2008, and continually gains momentum and recognition. As such, a feature article on the festival titled “Showtime in the Sahara” is running in the July 2007 issue of Vanity Fair Magazine.