Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the South West Asia North Africa (SWANA) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad. This new performing arts festival is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world.

The festival aims to position music from this region as living, breathing, and evolving art forms - that even ancient traditions are having new lives breathed into them with contemporary artists. Check out photos from all three past SOLD OUT editions of Habibi here as well as our episodes with our partner Afikra here!

The 4th edition of Habibi Festival will return to Joe’s Pub October 8-12, 2024 - get to know our artists here!