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The WATER & SOUND Festival (formerly “Festival of Cultures”) of the City of Augsburg has been presenting top-class world music for a broad audience of young and old for many years in the summer, reflecting the diversity of the city’s society. The program reflects contemporary global developments in contemporary music between tradition and modernity in areas such as West African Afrobeat, North African desert rock, progressive trends in Eastern and Western European music and the Balkans, pop music from the Arab underground and much more. So far, artists such as Fatoumata Diawara, Bombino, Yasmine Hamdan, Seun Kuti, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Dakhabrakha and Ibibio Sound Machine have been lured to Augsburg. Local cultural institutions, initiatives and associations enrich the festival with informative, artistic and culinary offerings.

Since 2022, the Festival of Cultures has been expanded according to a concept by artistic director Girisha Fernando under the title “WATER&SOUND” and further developed to include the multidimensionality of the global theme of water – a festival for global contemporary music in the water city of Augsburg (UNESCO World Heritage Site). A diverse program will be created along the thematic focus on water and music culture regions. It will reflect the global diversity of world music, creating elementary links between people, music and water. The concept includes international stars of world music as well as local artists and exclusive in-house musical productions. A supporting programme contextualizes the global significance of water as a resource and explores the spaces between art and science through art projects, panels and artist talks. Partners include the World Heritage Office and the University of Augsburg.