Niyazi Koyuncu brings the music of the Black Sea to life with a singular voice that blends traditional melodies and contemporary sonorities. His powerful, sincere stage presence and emotive delivery weave ancestral tunes sung in Turkish and regional languages into a sound that honours the past while sounding immediate. The evening includes an opening set by Jupîya, an acoustic quartet drawing repertoire from Anatolia and Mesopotamia, offering intimate, rhythmic arrangements that complement Koyuncu’s expressive storytelling.

Jorge Aragão brings a lifetime of samba to the stage in a program marking fifty years of songwriting and performance. His warm, unhurried delivery shapes songs that feel like lived stories—rooted in street culture, collective memory and Brazilian popular resilience. The concert unfolds as a generational transmission, where voice, rhythmic pulse and intimate phrasing invite reflection and communal joy. Lighting and sound craft close, enveloping atmospheres that foreground human warmth and the music’s soulful swing.

Multi-instrumentalist and singer Âpe Chimba crafts immersive concerts that open spaces of perception, connection and inner movement. He blends shamanic chants, indigenous folk melodies and hypnotic rhythms with a refined contemporary sound, weaving traditional chants, Spanish-language songs and ancient instruments with singular frequencies into a rich sonic tapestry. Performances unfold like living journeys—alternating silence and pulsation, intimate introspection and collective presence—where texture, rhythm and resonance invite deep listening and bodily response, creating a meditative, trance-tinged atmosphere.

Yasmine Hamdan performs a set that folds pan-Arab traditions into contemporary electro-pop, where her intimate, smoky voice drifts between poetic lyricism and rhythmic propulsion. A singer-songwriter and producer who emerged with Beirut’s pioneering duo Soapkills and later collaborated with Mirwais, she blends soul, guitar-driven motifs and electronic textures. Her work with filmmakers like Elia Suleiman and Jim Jarmusch underscores its cinematic quality. The evening promises a meditative yet urgent soundscape that navigates memory, longing and tenderness.

Trio Joubran, formed by brothers Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran, presents Twenty Springs: a two-decade survey of their oeuvre for oud. Joined by a string quartet (Valentin Mussou, cello; Anne Gouverneur and Sylvain Favre, violins; Anne Berry, viola) and percussionists Habib Meftah and Ersoj Kazimov, the ensemble expands the trio’s intimate sound into a rich, resonant tapestry. Arrangements alternate fragile solo interludes and sweeping, rhythmic passages, where luminous strings and precise percussion amplify the oud’s plaintive melodies, creating a meditative, emotionally charged journey.

With her Hope Tour, Angélique Kidjo brings one of Africa’s most remarkable voices to life. A Grammy winner, she blends West African roots with Afrobeat, soul and funk to build a vibrant, rhythmic soundscape. Songs like “Mother Nature” bridge generations from Salif Keita to Burna Boy, affirming dignity, solidarity and joy. Backed by a dynamic band, Kidjo radiates passion and rhythmic intensity, transforming the evening into a celebratory journey of movement, warmth and communal energy.