About Time: You Discovered Beat Hotel Festival, MarrakechBy Angelica Malin
Looking for something unique to do in March? Discover an incredible, new four-day festival on the outskirts of Marrakech at Beat Hotel. Here’s everything you need to know:
Beat Hotel Festival: The Lowdown
The original Beat Hotel was located in the bastion of Parisian hedonism and creativity, the Latin Quarter. Whilst small, and run down, with hot water only available a select few days a week, the guests and residents of The Beat Hotel forged its reputation as a hub of creativity. Although closed since 1963, its legacy has lived on in the words and lives of its most famed guests including Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, William Burroughs and Brion Gysin. In continuation of the spirit and of the original Beat Movement, The Beat Hotel arrived at Glastonbury with creative cocktails, sumptuous sustenance and a welcoming dance floor.
Continuing the Beat journey to warmer climes, in March 28th – 31st 2019, The Beat Hotel lands in Marrakech. Situated just 20 minutes outside the bustling souks of Marrakech, is the unique Fellah Hotel, the temporary location for the Beat Hotel. Surrounded by stunning vistas of the Atlas Mountains. by day, the desert sun will beat down over the palm tree-laden site, all 27 acres of it. As night draws in, guests can explore the venue’s various villas hosting live shows, parties and experimental films.
Beat Hotel Festival: The Music
The diverse and eclectic programme of music and talks will offer guests a selection of sounds and ideas from all reaches of the globe. A roster of local talent plays alongside globally-revered selectors including Hunee, Palms Trax, Haai, Gerd Janson and Gilles Peterson. The Moroccan contingent includes the traditional – like 4,000 year old rock band: ‘The Master Musicians of Joujouka’, and the new – with representatives from the burgeoning electronic scene, like DJ/Producer Yasmean and Casablanca’s stable for alternative dance music, Casa Voyager
Complimenting the musical programming, guests at The Beat Hotel, are not only entertained but also enriched. Faber & Faber will be presenting a literary programme curated to delve into the corners of psychedelia and pop culture, including talks with Trainspotting novelist Irvine Welsh, clubland journeyman Andrew Weatherall and NTS resident and producer Nabihah Iqbal, on Africa’s global music footprint.The cross-cultural pollination extends into a selection of tastemakers. Marrakech’s own Nomad presents the best in home-grown Moroccan delicacies, whilst international gastronomes Berber & Q, Black Axe Mangal and Salon bring their signature styles to the table. The Beat Hotel Marrakech has chosen a range of talented musicians, tastemakers and literary figures, who join the journey this March, as the Beat goes on to its next chapter.
Tickets can be found here
