The 42nd edition of the festival L-Għanja tal-Poplu takes place at Pjazza Teatru Rjal in Valletta tonight. The 16 competing entries, chosen from 137 submissions, will be accompanied by the Malta Concert Orchestra, made up of 40 musicians under the direction of Joe Brown and Paul Abela.

The presenters for this festival are Kim Dalli and Owen Bonnici. In the second part of the festival, Mro Paul Abela will be highlighting some of the successes throughout his musical career.

The 16 finalist songs are Għaliex Tlaqt? by Ruth Portelli (authored by Ryan Caruana and composed by Mark Scicluna); Min Aħna? – Cain (Emil Calleja Bayliss, Philip Vella); Nistenniek by Charlene (Corazón Mizzi); Allura by Philip Vella (Joe Chircop, Philip Vella); L-Immigrant by Alan Casha (Alan Casha and Andrew Vella); Fjuri tal-Karti by Krista Spiteri Lucas (Paul Ellul, Mark Spiteri Lucas); L-Aħħar Żifna by Mark Cachia (singer-songwriter); Pawlu l-Babaw by Neville Refalo (Corazón Mizzi and Neville Refalo); Anamika by Monica Said (Monica Said, Conrad Dimech and Michael Camilleri); Mhux Kif Ħsibt by Dwett (Giovann Attard, Pamela Bezzina and Alex Debono); Din l-Art Ħelwa by Dominic and Ina (Joe Julian Farrugia and Andrew Zahra); Mhux Kulma Jleqq Deheb by Michela Galea (Emil Calleja Bayliss and Renato Briffa); Ħadd Ma Jaf Xi Jrid – JAMM Band (singer-songwriters); Bis-Serqa by Rita Pace (singer-songwriter); Wegħdni by Lydon Incorvaja (Rita Pace and Glen Vella); and Fi Lsien in-Nies by Dario and Grecia Bezzina (Emil Calleja Bayliss and Dario Bezzina).

The festival is organised by L-Għanja tal-Poplu committee together with Pjazza Teatru Rjal with the collaboration of L-Akkademja tal-Malti.

Winners for this year’s main festival in Maltese will be chosen through a combination of popular and expert voting. Throughout these 42 editions, hundreds of composers, authors, singer-songwriters, musicians and singers contributed their work while always capturing the imagination, aspiration, creativity and enthusiasm of the public.

Tickets for the festival from www.ticketline.com.mt. More information can be found on www.ghanjafest.com/.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.