Omar Hayat
Thursday
19:45 - 20:45
Pandora - TivoliVredenburg
Grand Maalem Omar Hayat channels the spirit of Gnawa through music that blurs the line between ritual and performance. Based in Essaouira, Morocco, his birthplace and spiritual home, he crafts his own bass guembri by hand, anchoring sound in tradition and soul. Hayat’s concerts unfold as immersive ceremonies, drawing audiences into trance states where rhythm, color and symbolism converge. A mentor to new Maalems, he bridges generations while infusing his art with influences from Jimi Hendrix to Nass El Ghiwane. Humble yet commanding, Omar’s stage presence is a vessel for the sacred, his music not just heard, but a testament to the fusion of tradition and innovation.