Argotti Gardens in Floriana is going to be completely transformed this week as it hosts Ritmu Roots Festival on Friday and Saturday (June 9 and 10).

Organised by Festivals Malta, the festival puts the spotlight on Malta's music tradition għana while putting it within a worldly context. It kicked off on June 2 with a varied programme of events and reaches its culmination with a full line-up of performances at the Argotti Gardens.

Kantuniera Mużika Maltija. Photo: Andrew Alamango

On Friday and Saturday, members of the public are invited to experience an energy-filled and intimate atmosphere. On Friday, the musical line-up starts with a short session dedicated to għana with Nenu Borg “Il-Brazz” and the “Tal-Mustaċċa” family.

The evening will ensue with performances by musicians Mark Axiak and Jimmy Bartolo with Għana Lab Guitars who will be experimenting with traditional Maltese rhythms, a concert with flamenco music by Eduardo Trassierra Duo and finally, gypsy-jazz performance by Tchavolo Schmitt.

La Mal Coiffée. Photo: Pierre Campistron

On Saturday, the evening will commence with the Making Our Collective Memory Physical workshop.

This makkjetti workshop which has a session for children at 6pm and another for adults at 7pm, is an opportunity for members of the public to experiment with the makkjetta musical form with material from the Magna Żmien Archive and Malta’s Lost Voices book series.

Eduardo Trassierra Duo

This evening will continue with a performance by Mariele Zammit and Joe Debono with the name Għana Lab Voice, traditional fado from Portugal by singer Ana Margarida. The festival will then come to a close by French group La Mal Coiffée.

Ritmu Roots Festival Malta has much more to offer than what we mentioned here! For more information, visit our website on www.festivals.mt/ritmu.