Where can I see live Gnawa or traditional music in Morocco?

If you want one place above all others, it is Essaouira. This breezy Atlantic port is the heart of Gnawa music, the trance-inducing tradition brought by descendants of enslaved West Africans, built on the hypnotic three-string guembri, iron qraqeb castanets and call-and-response chant. Walk the medina on almost any evening and you'll hear it pouring out of cafes and craft shops. In June the Gnaoua World Music Festival takes over the entire town with free stages on the ramparts and beach, and the energy is extraordinary.

In Marrakech I build music into the evening differently. Many riads will arrange a private Gnawa or Andalusian set in their courtyard, three or four musicians under the lanterns, which is intimate and lets you actually feel the rhythm rather than fight a crowd. There are also dinner restaurants in the medina and palace-style venues that pair Moroccan cuisine with live Andalusian orchestras and Chaabi bands, the popular dance music you'll hear at every wedding.

For the truly curious, a lila is the real thing: an all-night Gnawa healing ceremony where the music moves participants into trance. These are spiritual occasions, not performances, so I only arrange them respectfully through musicians we know, with clear etiquette about photography and behaviour. It is a profound, hours-long experience and not for everyone, but for music lovers it is unforgettable.

Beyond Gnawa, listen for Andalusian classical music in Fes and Rabat, Amazigh (Berber) ahwach and ahidous group dances in the Atlas and south, and Chaabi everywhere. My standard suggestion to guests is to base in Essaouira for a night or two if music is a priority, then add one curated private session in Marrakech. That gives you the raw festival-town atmosphere plus an up-close listen.