The first 25 artists set to perform at the next edition of the MED festival have been announced by its organizers, during a presentation at the Lisbon Tourism Exchange. This year, the event will spotlight Cape Verde as the guest nation, as relayed by the festival-promoting municipal authority via its website.
The Loulé City Hall, which hosts the festival in the historic area of the Algarve city, emphasized the event’s “multidisciplinary and multicultural program” designed to create “an environment imbued with diverse global experiences.”
The municipality reminded that in 2024, Morocco was the first country to receive special recognition at the festival, with Cape Verde being chosen for this year’s edition.
“The music of this country will thus be highlighted in the MED lineup, particularly through the presence of Carmen Souza, who is scheduled for a showcase at the Louletano Cine-theater on May 10, during the final presentation of the MED Festival,” the announcement proclaimed.
The MED’s organizers highlighted the contribution of the Portuguese-Cape Verdean artist who “merges a virtuous jazz vocal technique with a series of Lusophone influences, spanning from fado to samba, morna to bossa nova, including bittersweet ballads or ‘Cape Verdean blues.'”
Born in Mali to Cape Verdean parents, “Ceuzany will perform the inaugural concert, before the official opening of the festival, on the night of June 25 at the Castle Stage,” outlined the municipality of the Faro district.
The “ambassadors of funaná,” Ferro Gaita, will also return to the Algarve festival, as will Dino D’Santiago, an Algarve musician of Cape Verdean descent, who will give a “special concert” with Os Tubarões, “a group that was among the most representative of the country’s music during the transition to independence and democracy.”
“Dino, a native of Loulé, needs no further introduction for what he stands for today, not only musically but also as an activist for social causes, involved in multiple projects related to social equity and equality,” the municipality remarked about the African-origin musician from Quarteira.
The organizers revealed that in 2025, the MED will present “90 hours of music, 54 concerts, 338 musicians, 27 nationalities, two of which are new (Puerto Rico and Wales), 12 stages, 100 craft exhibitors, two art exhibitions, and 12 street artist groups.”
The event will also feature Salvador Sobral in collaboration with Spanish artist Sílvia Pérez Cruz, as well as performances by Carminho, O Gajo & As Sanfonas da Ponte Velha, Stereossauro, Ana Lua Caiano, and Pedro Joia, with the last three preparing a special project for the festival.
Additional artists include the Malian Vieux Farka Touré, Jeneile Osborne, also known as Queen Omega, from Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rican iLe, Welsh Cerys Hafana, Portuguese performers Milhana, A Garota Não, and Valter Lobo, along with others.
Among the confirmed participants are Systema Solar (Colombia), Barrut (France), Balqeis (Egypt), Fulu Miziki (Democratic Republic of Congo), Sofian Saidi (Algeria), Justin Adams & Mauro Durante (UK/Italy), Shkoon (Syria/Germany), Alain Pérez y la Orquesta (Cuba), Paulo Flores (Angola), and Tarwa-N-Tiniri (Morocco).
