Festival au Désert 2026
3, 8 and 9 JULY 2026
Parco delle Cascine, Florence
Il Festival au Désert di Firenze was established in 2010 through a partnership with the renowned Festival au Désert of Timbuktu. Originally conceived on the edge of the Sahara Desert, the festival became a symbolic meeting place for cultures, artists, and traditions, promoting dialogue through music. Over the years, it has brought together African and international musicians, becoming a landmark event on the global music scene. Following the political and military crisis that affected Mali in 2012, the festival was forced to suspend its original programme, giving rise to the international “Festival in Exile” project, aimed at preserving its spirit and spreading its values around the world.
Within this context, Florence – thanks to the work of the Fondazione Fabbrica Europa – has established itself as one of the festival’s main host cities in Europe.
Il Festival au Désert di Firenze represents a cultural bridge between Africa and Europe: a
The 2026 edition will take place in the heart of Parco delle Cascine in Florence, in the spaces of PARC Performing Arts Research Centre and Ultravox Firenze, within the evocative context of Prato della Tinaia.
Among the highlights of the upcoming edition are artists who embody the richness and diversity of today’s musical languages. The group led by Kader Tarhanine brings to the stage the sounds of the desert and Tuareg traditions, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. Savāna Funk offer a powerful blend of funk, rock, and Afro-inspired influences, while Alessio Bondì enriches the programme with an intimate musical research deeply rooted in Mediterranean tradition. The presence of Mamah Diabaté evokes the great musical heritage of West Africa, weaving together ancestral rhythms and oral storytelling.
The Festival au Désert Firenze thus emerges not only as a music event, but as a far-reaching cultural project, capable of bringing together diverse communities and keeping alive, even far from the desert itself, a unique experience of sharing, dialogue, and cultural resilience.
PROGRAMME
FRI 3 JULY
PARC Performing Arts Research Centre · Piazzale delle Cascine · Florence
h 7:00 PM – free admission
Screening of the documentary “Ressacs, une histoire tuareg” by Intagrist El Ansari, dedicated to Tuareg culture and music (in French with English subtitles)
Followed by “Il deserto e il nomadismo tra musica, politica e storia” (The Desert and Nomadism: Music, Politics and History), talk by Marta Amico and Raffaele Palumbo
WED 8 JULY
PARC Bistrò · Piazzale delle Cascine · Florence
h 7:00 PM – free admission
“Da Azalai a Desertica, dal Mali all’Algeria” (From Azalai to Desertica, from Mali to Algeria), musician and traveller Carlo Maver interviewed by Raffaele Palumbo
PARC Performing Arts Research Centre · Piazzale delle Cascine · Florence
h 9:30 PM – admission 5 euro – pre-sale at ticketone.it
“Mali Blues” in concert
with DIMITRI GRECHI ESPINOZA, GABRIO BALDACCI, ANDREA BENINATI and MAMAH DIABATÉ (Mali), vocals and ngoni
THU 9 JULY
Ultravox · Prato della Tinaia · Florence
h 20:00 – free admission
“I Tuareg nella tormenta: tra repressione, emancipazione, alleanze pericolose e speranze tradite” (The Tuareg in the storm: between repression, emancipation, dangerous alliances, and betrayed hopes), talk by Luca Raineri
h 21:30 – free admission
ALESSIO BONDÌ
KADER TARHANINE (Mali)
SAVĀNA FUNK
THE MUSICIANS
MALI BLUES. Building on the experience of Dinamitri Jazz Folklore, a project that has made the African roots of the blues its defining artistic signature, two of its founding members, Dimitri Grechi Espinoza and Gabrio Baldacci, venture into desert landscapes and circular rhythms with a musical project featuring the collaboration of multi-instrumentalist Andrea Beninati on cello and drums. Espinoza’s long-standing work with Tuareg and Berber musicians, including Tartit and Bombino, as well as Malian artists such as Samba Touré and Afel Bocoum, through collaborations with the Festival au Désert in Timbuktu and Florence, has shaped this project into an open platform that welcomes contributions and cross-cultural influences, both in composition and in live performance.
At Festival au Désert 2026, the group will be joined byMAMAH DIABATÉ, master of the traditional ngoni and a musician who performed for many years alongside the queen of Malian music, Rokia Traoré.
ALESSIO BONDÌ is a Sicilian singer-songwriter whose music blends the ancient sound of the Palermo dialect with contemporary rhythms and sonic textures. In 2013 he won the Premio De André with “In funn’o mare”, followed in 2014 by the SIAE Award at the Premio Andrea Parodi for “Rimmillu ru’ voti”. His debut album, “Sfardo” (800A Records/Malintenti Dischi), was released in 2015 and was shortlisted for the Targhe Tenco awards in three categories: Best Debut Album, Best Dialect Album, and Best Song for “Vucciria”. Released and distributed in eleven countries across Europe and the Americas in 2017, the album launched an intense period of international touring. In 2018 he released “Nivuru”, followed by extensive tours throughout Italy and Europe, including opening performances for Max Gazzè on selected European dates. In 2021 he released “Maharia”, followed by a long tour and a collaborative project with the Tatum Orchestra, documented in a live album released in 2022. That same year he performed at the Eurovillage during the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin and composed the soundtrack for the film Spaccaossa, which premiered at the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for the David di Donatello Awards 2023. Since 2022, he has also been a member of Lero Lero, a collective devoted to research and experimentation in Sicilian oral folk music traditions.
KADER TARHANINE, one of the brightest new voices in Tuareg music, has become one of the Sahara’s most popular young artists thanks to his innovative style, the freshness of his sound, and his remarkable natural talent. In 2012 he first gained widespread attention through social media with the song “Tarhanine Tegla: Mon Amour est Partie”, which quickly became an anthem among young Tuareg people and the Tuareg diaspora around the world. Born in Niger to Malian parents from Menaka and Timbuktu, he grew up in Tamanrasset, in southern Algeria. Performing with a band of young musicians all originally from northern Mali, he draws inspiration from the rich musical heritage of the Sahel-Saharan region. His music combines traditional rhythms with rock influences and poetic lyrics in Sahelian and Arabic traditions. Following his first tours in Africa and Europe, he was widely acclaimed as one of the finest voices of his generation and an exceptional guitarist. Today he is regarded as the natural heir to the first generation of internationally renowned Tuareg musicians. His collaborations, both on stage and in the studio, with leading Malian artists including Fatoumata Diawara and Sidiki Diabaté have established him as a musical ambassador for peace between northern and southern Mali, regions long divided by political and ethnic conflict.
SAVĀNA FUNK are a powerful, high-energy live band whose music blends funk, rock, blues, and African influences, making groove their universal language and the stage their natural habitat. Formed in Bologna in 2015 by Aldo, Blake, and Youssef, the trio has developed a distinctive sound that now also embraces Afro-Cosmic Disco, further enriched by their prestigious collaboration with internationally acclaimed producer Gaudi. They have performed at some of Europe’s leading festivals, including Firenze Rocks alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sherwood Festival with Seun Kuti, A Cielo Aperto with Kokoroko, and Tanta Robba Festival with Nu Genea. In 2025, Savāna Funk further expanded their international presence with a successful tour of Indonesia, a high-profile performance at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London, and a memorable appearance at the Sziget Festival in Budapest.
