Malian superstar, Swedish soul queen and Somali disco-funk pioneers to headline Selam festival Stockholm 9-11 mars!

Selam Festival Stockholm 2018 proudly presents several internationally acclaimed musicians that will perform on a number of stages during three days. This year fifty percent of the artists are women. 

– This year will show us the path to the future. We’ve fought hard for Selam Festival Stockholm to be an equal festival and now we’ve finally reached our goal. This year we highlight female artist from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Cuba, says Selam founder Teshome Wondimu. 

Critically acclaimed soul-queen Cherrie – who last year won a Swedish Grammy and several other prestigious awards for best soul/hip-hop-act – kicks off the festival on Friday with a club gig at Fasching. She’s also the opening act for Somali disco-funk pioneers Dur Dur Band International, who are performing in Sweden for the very first time. A couple of years ago, Dur Dur Band received a lot of global attention when the record company Awesome Tapes of Africa re-released one of their albums. 

On Saturday, Ethiopian reggae artist Sami Dan and fast-rising popstar Betty G will perform at Nalen. Sunday marks the finale of the festival, showcasing ”the new sound of Cuba” Eme Alfonso and ”the golden voice of Africa” Salif Keita at Konserthuset Stockholm (Stockholm Concert Hall). 

–  Just like previous years, the festival will take place at different venues around the Stockholm city centre. But this year we want to make the festival more available and for that reason, parts of the program will take place in less central areas, says Teshome Wondimu. 

One such plank is Ethiopian Circus Debre Berhan, who will do one of their socially aware performances in Nya Rågsveds Folkets Hus.